Manipur ethnic violence: One killed in protests after bodies found in river

Six people from the same family were allegedly abducted from a relief camp

Activists protest in New Delhi, condemning the alleged killing of women and children by militants in Jiribam, Manipur. AFP

At least one protester has been killed during clashes with government forces after violence erupted in India’s remote state of Manipur following the abduction and killing of six members of an ethnic group last week.

The decomposed bodies of three women and three children were found floating in a river in the neighboring Assam state. A two-year-old boy and his grandmother were decapitated, the child’s father and the sole survivor of the family, Lashiram Herojit, said.

In the ensuing violent clashes, a protester, 20, was killed, and six others injured late on Sunday.

“One person was killed in firing ... it was not immediately clear who opened fire," police said. “The deceased has been identified as K Athouba, who was in his twenties.”

The six killed, all from the same Meitei family, had gone missing from a camp for displaced people in the Jiribam district of Manipur after a fatal shootout between Kuki militants and government forces on November 11.

They were allegedly taken hostage by Kuki militants to avenge the killing of 10 insurgents by government forces following an attempted attack on a police station, state media reported.

The Kuki and other Christian tribal communities claimed those who died in the gunfight were killed “in cold blood”.

Manipur, a state that borders Myanmar and Bangladesh, has been gripped by ethnic violence since May last year when warring tribes – the majority Meitei Hindus and minority Christian Kukis – clashed over a proposed government policy that would have benefited the Meitei group.

More than 200 people have been killed in the violence and tens of thousands displaced in the region that has a long history of armed conflicts between various tribes, as well as with the Indian state.

The grim discovery in the river triggered a wave of protests in Meitei-dominated areas, some of which turned violent. Armed mobs stormed the residences and offices of six ruling Bharatiya Janata Party state politicians.

Authorities imposed a curfew and cut off the internet. Markets and businesses were closed – except pharmacies – while public transport was withdrawn on Monday.

Civil society groups from the valley dominated by Meiteis have issued threats to the BJP state government.

Khuraijam Athouba, spokesman for Cocomi, an umbrella body of Meitei civil society groups, said MPs must sit down with state and community leaders “to take decisive action to resolve the present crisis at the earliest”.

“If they do not take any decisive action that satisfies the people, the government will bear the brunt of the people's discontent and anger," he added.

India's Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday chaired a review meeting of the situation, while his ministry released a statement asking the public “to maintain peace, not believe rumours and co-operate with the security forces to maintain law and order in Manipur".

The state is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP. He has been criticised over his silence and his perceived inability to curb the violence.