Government mum as troops continue to rampage Kuki villages

Imphal, June 03: The crackdown by the Assam Rifles on the villages located in the vicinity of Liplen Kuki village, where 11 AR men were killed in an ambush last Monday, is still continuing without any intervention from the state authorities, according to reports reaching here. Apart from the AR troops posted at the Sanakeithel post, troops from Assam Rifles posts at Kachai in Ukhrul and Kangpokpi have descended on the area since May 28 afternoon. Reports said atrocities by the AR personnel against civilians have continued over the last week in various villages in the area. Eleven villagers of Khomunnom village, including the village chief, who were picked up by the AR on 28 May evening, were released yesterday morning, after they were subjected to brutal torture inside the AR camp, villagers said. While one of the villagers is reported to be critical, at least eight others are reported to have suffered serious injuries. According to locals, the villagers picked up by the Assam Rifles were threatened by the AR to reveal the whereabouts of the new camp of the Kuki Revolutionary Army, KRA. The village chiefs and chairman have reportedly been instructed to come to the Sanakeithel AR post every Sunday to report any UG infiltration in their villages. During the past few days, AR personnel conducted operations in Yangnoi, Gangpikon, Gampung and Zalenphai village, where atrocities were routinely committed against the villagers. In several cases, the menfolk were stripped, beaten and humiliated before the womenfolk of the village. Villagers lamented that the AR has been continuing their atrocities with a free hand in the area till today with no state authority paying attention to the plight of the victims. The villagers pleaded urgently for immediate intervention to bring an end to the massive harassment and atrocities against the public, and to take actions the responsible AR official. Meanwhile, the United Committee Manipur, UCM, has strongly condemned the atrocities inflicted by Assam Rifles personnel on innocent villagers in the wake of May 27 ambush. An UCM team led by its president visited the injured victims who are under treatment at JN Hospital today.