Kanggui: A complete 24-hour shutdown was observed across Kangpokpi district on Tuesday following the killing of three villagers in N Teikhang village under T Waichong sub-division along the Imphal-Tamenglong Road.
The shutdown called by the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) began at 5 am on September 1 and ended at 5 am on September 2. Shops remained closed, transport was off the roads and movement along IT Road was affected after volunteers reportedly blocked stretches by placing boulders and felling trees.
The protest was against the alleged attack on N Teikhang on August 31 morning in which two women and one man were killed and four others injured. Kuki groups have alleged the attack was carried out by cadres of NSCN-IM and ZUF(K). The bodies were brought to Kangpokpi District Hospital morgue late Monday night by police and central forces.
The shutdown day also saw fresh gunfire in the Twilang area. Local sources said firing was reported between 4.40 am and 8.45 am around Chaljang and Lhouthang, with claims of mortar rounds and injuries on the Kuki side. Both Kuki and Naga sides have traded accusations over the IT Road violence in recent days.
Speaking to media during the shutdown, CoTU spokesperson Ng Lun Kipgen alleged that continued attacks by Tangkhul-led NSCN-IM and its proxy ZUF(K) are pushing the Twilang belt towards a full-scale conflict. He said repeated violence in the hill districts since early this year has created panic among civilians.
Kipgen appealed to Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh to act immediately and said the government should not repeat what he called the mistakes of 2023. He said the May 3, 2023 violence could have been contained if timely action was taken then. CoTU said its demands have already been placed before Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen during Monday protest.
CoTU said the ball is now in the court of the government and it will review the response before deciding the next step. Kipgen warned that if the response is not satisfactory after the shutdown, the committee will resort to more extreme democratic agitation. Security has been tightened along IT Road as tension remains high.
