(image-X/manipur_police)
Imphal: The Manipur government on Thursday imposed prohibitory orders in the state following the alleged custodial death of a 27-year-old man earlier this month, according to reports.
Identified as Khoisnam Sanajaoba, the man was arrested in Imphal East district on March 31 based on allegations of being associated with the banned outfit Kangleipak Communist Party (Nongdrenkhomba). Sanajaoba reportedly died on April 13 while in judicial custody at Imphal’s Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences.
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The man had been admitted to the medical institute earlier on the same day. He had been remanded to Sajiwa’s Manipur Central Jail on April 10.
Seeking an impartial investigation into his death, a joint action committee claimed that he was a “village volunteer”, a term used for armed civilians guarding villages since an ethnic conflict broke out between the state’s Kuki and Meitei communities in May 2023.
The committee members also hail from Khurai Ningthoubung Leikai, where Sanajaoba also lived.
The committee also demanded that his family be given adequate compensation and his next of kin be given a government job. They also sought the post-mortem report and the raw video footage of the examination to be made public.
Markets and educational establishments were closed, and public vehicles remained off the roads in Imphal East and Imphal West districts. Security deployment in the state capital and in the Khurai, Lamlong and Porompat areas in Imphal East has also reportedly been increased.
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Manipur has witnessed the killing of at least 260 people in ethnic violence between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar communities that broke out in May 2023. Nearly 59,000 have been displaced since.
In February this year, President’s rule was imposed in the state following the resignation of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh.
The Manipur police have arrested nearly 18 alleged members of several banned outfits, including the Kangleipak Communist Party (Nongdrenkhomba), in the state between April 19 and April 21 alone.
