Families of four killed in Manipur shootout refuse to accept bodies

Guwahati:  In terms of protest against the administration, the family of four people shot dead by militants in Manipur’s Thoubal district on Monday refused to take the bodies on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum to the state government with a list of demands, reports said.

A joint action committee (JAC) of Meitei Pangals who gave the memorandum to the government urged to allow the formation of village protection forces in all areas where the Meitei Muslim community resides in the state.

The committee also demanded that the probe of the Monday killings be handled by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

In an order, the state government ordered the setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Manipur Police sub-divisional police officer Mohd Riyajuddin Shah, to probe the killings, which the statement said was suspected to have been carried out by “valley-based UGs [under grounds].

The trouble started when the proscribed Revolutionary Peoples’ Front tried to apprehend a drug lord who had persistently flouted warnings to halt illegal drug trading and the locals of the area intervened without understanding the mission, resulting in the shootout in self-defense.

According to the JAC, the memorandum states, “The demands should be fulfilled by the government of Manipur within 48 hours, and if the demands are not fulfilled, the dead bodies shall not be taken by the relatives and the JAC.”

Chief minister Biren Singh visited the families of the injured in Lilong, Ahmad said. “The JAC has submitted the memorandum to the chief minister,” he said. “The situation is peaceful now.”