Manipur: Video of man's body being burnt surfaces, police clarify
In yet another shocking development in Manipur, a video of an alleged tribal man's body being set ablaze inside a trench has gone viral on social media platforms. In the seven-second clip, a man wearing a black T-shirt and camouflage pants could be seen lying motionless on the ground, with his face battered and his body on fire. The video has sparked a fresh row over the ongoing violence in the crisis-hit northeastern state.
Manipur Police releases clarification on viral clip
The video surfaced on Sunday evening, following which the police clarified that the clip was from an incident that allegedly occurred in Manipur's Thoubal district on May 4. According to The Indian Express, a senior official of the Manipur Police revealed that the man who was seen in the video belonged to the tribal Kuki-Zomi community. It was recorded on the second day of Manipur violence, they said, adding a case was also registered regarding the incident at the time.
Another video from Thoubal went viral in July
Back in July, another clip that reportedly showed two women from the Kuki-Zomi community being sexually assaulted and paraded naked by a mob went viral. It had sparked a massive nationwide outrage. Interestingly, that incident also occurred in Thoubal on May 4. The authorities have now claimed that this new video of the man being burnt was also from the same series of violent incidents that had engulfed the district on that day.
About ongoing conflict in Manipur since May 3
It is worth noting that Manipur has been reporting widespread violence since May 3 following a tribal march against the Meitei community's calls for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. While more than 180 people have reportedly died in the state since then, thousands of others suffered injuries in the ethnic clashes. Meiteis—53% of Manipur's population—are worried about the influx of illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh. Whereas tribal Nagas and Kukis—nearly 40% of its population—are concerned about losing their ancestral grounds.
Security forces targeted in Manipur: Report
Separately, the Manipur Police on Sunday revealed that security personnel were targeted by armed miscreants just hours after they thwarted an attack on Saturday night in the New Keithelmanbi area. "Around 4:30am on Sunday, security forces deployed on the northwest periphery of Keithelmanbi detected suspicious movement of some individuals and fired illumination rounds to ascertain their identity," the police said. "Combing and search operations were thereafter undertaken by security forces," The Hindu quoted the police as saying.
