CHURACHANDPUR, June 19: Thousands of women from the Kuki Zo community took to the streets of Churachandpur on Wednesday in a massive protest against what they termed as the “arbitrary arrest” of members from their community by security forces. The peaceful rally, organised by the Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR), began at 11 AM from Koite Ground and culminated at Peace Ground in Tuibuong.
Protesters marched with placards bearing slogans such as “Respect Human Rights,” “We Don’t Want Selective Justice,” “Justice for the Kuki Zo Community,” and “Stop Arbitrary Arrests.” The KWOHR also submitted a memorandum addressed to the Union Home Minister through the district magistrate, alleging fresh arrests of two more Kuki individuals and terming the detentions as unjust.
The memorandum demanded the immediate release of the arrested individuals and called for a judicial inquiry into what they described as targeted arrests and ethnic profiling. The group also urged action against armed militias, seizure of looted weapons, and a probe into potential collusion between such groups and state actors.
The protest comes in the wake of recent arrests made by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a deadly attack on security forces in Moreh, Tengnoupal district, that occurred on January 17, 2024. The attack had resulted in the deaths of two police commandos and injuries to several personnel.
Among those arrested by the NIA is Thangminlen Mate, a resident of Tengnoupal district and a member of the Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal (KIT). Two other accused—Kamginthang Gangte, reportedly affiliated with the Kuki National Army (KNA), and Hentinthang Kipgen alias Thangneo Kipgen, associated with the village volunteers’ group in Churachandpur—were taken into custody in Imphal on June 6.
