Imphal, June 20 (IANS) Normal life was badly affected in Manipur’s Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts on Friday as Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a leading organisation of the Kuki-Zo community, enforced an indefinite shutdown in the two tribal inhabited districts in protest against the killing of an elderly Kuki woman on Thursday.

Officials said that shops, markets, business establishments remained closed, while movements of private vehicles were disrupted due to the shutdown in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts.

Attendance in government offices and banks was very thin while educational institutions remained closed for the day in both the districts, the official said.

ITLF activists, including women, blocked several roads in the two districts.

On Thursday, an elderly Kuki community woman was killed and a farmer, who belonged to Meitei community, shot at in separate incidents in Manipur’s Churachandpur and Bishnupur district respectively.

The official said that one Ningthoujam Biren Singh, a cultivator from Phubala Awang Maning Leikai, was shot in his left arm by an unknown armed miscreant while working in his paddy field at Phubala Maning in Bishnupur district.

Singh is now under medical treatment at the Regional Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) medical college and hospital in Imphal.

In response, security forces launched a search operation in and around Langchingmanbi, Heichanglok, and the western areas of Phubala village.

During the course of the operation, security forces came under fire from unknown armed attackers and the forces retaliated accordingly.

During the crossfire, one woman identified as Hoikholhing Haokip (55) from Langchingmanbi village was found dead with a bullet injury.

The victim was the wife of the village chief of Langchingmanbi.

The ITLF in a letter to Governor Ajay Kumal Bhalla on Friday demanded a judicial inquiry “to ensure transparency and accountability in the investigation of the killing of the woman”.

The tribal body in their letter to the Governor said that this “grave incident has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Kuki-Zo community, resulting in the imposition of an indefinite shutdown in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts”.

The security personnel responsible for the killing of Hoikholhing Haokip must be identified, booked, and punished in accordance with the law, the tribal body said.

“Kuki-Zo people seek only peace, justice, and the protection of life and dignity. We trust that your esteemed office will act with urgency and impartiality to address this matter and restore the faith of our people in the democratic and legal institutions of our state,” the ITLF said.

–IANS

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