Recent graduate, elderly woman – fresh flare-up in Manipur leaves more broken families

Among the dead in the latest round of violence is Jacob Jamkhothang Touthang (37), who was killed on May 27 evening in T Chavangphai village in the hill district of Churachandpur, at the border with the valley district of Bishnupur.

A view of damaged house at violence-hit area of Sugnu, in Kakching district, Manipur. (PTI)

The women, children and the elderly from the village had evacuated on May 3 itself after violence first broke out in the state. According to Jacob’s brother Lhunkholet, only men remain in the village to “protect” it. He said Jacob had been in Kakching district for a government skill development training programme, but returned after the violence broke out.

“Our village is next to a Meitei village, separated by an open space. Jacob and two of his friends were on duty as village defence volunteers on May 27. Around 5 pm, his friends, who were with him, said there was an explosion and he was shot in the chest. They could not recover the body but informed us of what happened. I recovered the body the next day and brought it to the Churachandpur district hospital,” he said.

According to Lhunkholet, Jacob studied at Don Bosco School, Maram, till class 10 and went on to work in the BPO sector in Chennai before returning and beginning work at a mobile repair shop in Tuibuong, Churachandpur. He was also the joint secretary of the Kuki Students’ Organisation – Henglep Unit.

A local tries to douse a fire that broke out amid clashes between armed groups and security forces, in Manipur. (PTI)

Thangminlun Haokip (26), a resident of Phaisi village in the interior of the hill district of Chandel, died in Thingkangphai village, close to the district’s border with the valley district of Kakching on May 28, his family said. According to his cousin Hollal Haokip, he had gone to Thingkangphai the previous day to visit relatives and friends.

“Late in the night, the village was attacked by armed people, it could be civilians or commandos, and he was shot,” he alleged.

The body is currently in the Churachandpur district hospital, where it was brought by the Kangleipak Kanba Lup (KKL) outfit later that day.

“His father is the chief of Phaisi village, everyone knows he’s a student. He recently graduated from MB College in Imphal,” said Hollal, adding that since he was from an interior village, he was not even a village defence volunteer.

Army jawan stand guard in violence-hit area of Imphal town, Manipur. (PTI)

Also among the victims was Lethoi (63), who was left behind on May 28 when residents fled from Langching village near Sugnu in Kakching district – an epicentre of the recent violence. Later that day, the village was burned to the ground while she was in it.

Her son Letminlun is the vice-principal of Christian English Higher Secondary School in the village, and one of around 30 men in the village who were village defence volunteers.

“From around 2:30 am, firing began taking place and we were in firing positions to protect the village. The women and children were all in the church. We all retreated around 11 am because the village was surrounded and we left thinking that all the people in the church had been evacuated. Later, we found that my mother had been left behind,” he said.

The family does not have her body yet. “We have evacuated to Churachandpur, but we can’t go to the village,” he said.

Army personnel guard in the aftermath of recent spurt in violence, in Manipur. (PTI Photo)

The sudden flare-up also claimed the life of Thangjam Lemba (27), who was killed in a paddy field near Leitanpokpi village, in Imphal East district’s border with Kangpokpi district on May 28 afternoon.

According to his cousin Thangjam Khambatun, an exchange of fire in the area between security forces and armed people in the hills had begun early that morning.

“Things calmed down in the afternoon and the firing stopped, but soon after that, Leitanpokpi was set on fire by Kuki militants. Our village is nearby, so we went to see if we could try and rescue some people. But as we approached, they began firing at us. We ran off to hide in the paddy fields,” he claimed.

He said that when they did a headcount, Lemba was missing. Later, they found his body in the paddy fields. According to Khambatun, Lemba took tuition classes for primary school children in his village to make a living.