Guwahati: The day a delegation of supreme court judges arrived Manipur to supervise legal services camps, security forces fired tear gas shells to disperse protesters who had been blocking a stretch of National Highway 202 in Manipur’s Ukhrul district on Friday.
Pointing out that at least five women sustained minor injuries during the incident and were administered first aid by security forces, security sources said that Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of Kuki tribes in the state, has called for an indefinite shutdown across Kuki-inhabited areas.
Informing that security force was compelled to fire tear gas shell to dispurse crowd, security sources said that incident took place near Shangkai village, who called for shutdown over the alleged abduction of 14 community members by Naga groups.
Security sources said that demonstrators obstructed the key Imphal-Ukhrul highway using heavy stone boulders and tree trunks, disrupting the movement of essential goods and security personnel heading to Ukhrul district headquarters.
It is significant that tension was simmering in the area since May 13, when more than 38 people were abducted and held hostage by armed groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts, hours after three church leaders were killed in an ambush in Kangpokpi district.
So far, 31 hostages, including 12 Naga women and 16 Kukis, have been released. However, six Naga men remain unaccounted for, with their whereabouts still unknown.
Kuki Inpi Manipur has maintained that 14 members of the Kuki community continue to be held captive by Naga groups.
Meanwhile a five-member delegation of Supreme Court Judges led by Justice B R Gavai, who is also the Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) arrived in Imphal on Friday. After arriving at Imphal, three Judges of the delegation, Justice Gavai, Justice Vikram Nath and Justice M M Sundresh visited Churachandpur and attended the inauguration program of legal services camp, health camp, legal aid clinics there.
The team of Supreme Court Judges also participated in the enrolment campaign in which eligible IDPs were enrolled as beneficiaries for various schemes.