Kohima, July 17 (MExN): The Naga Students' Federation today expressed anguish at the killing one Naga women in lmphal on July 15 and demanded befitting action be initiated against the perpetrators.
“The cowardly act perpetrated upon our harmless mother, despite having identified herself as a Maring Naga, is a direct challenge to the Maring Naga people in particular and the Naga people as a whole,” a press release from the NSF stated.
The Naga women, identified as 57-year-old M Lucy Marem was killed at Keibi Heikakmapal Maning Ching in the Sawombung area of Manipur's Imphal East district on Saturday.
It meanwhile questioned the intention of the Arambai Tenggol and the Meira Paibis, who it alleged “colluded with the perpetrators of the dastardly act.”
“The very act of bludgeoning to death an innocent lady reveals the lack of human values and also speaks for how the perpetrator has systematically planned the ongoing ethnic violence in the state,” the NSF stated.
While condemning what it said was a “targeted hate crime,” the NSF said it is “convinced that the prevailing lawlessness in the state of Manipur is a creation of the present dispensation and that the individuals at the helm of affairs should be held accountable.”
It said that the Nagas, wherever they are placed, are peace loving people. “However, our warrior blood will not rest if our very existence is threatened by forces that are inimical to our peaceful attitude and approach. We will not tread lightly even if a strand of our hair is touched with ill intention,” the NSF stated.
The federation demanded that befitting action be initiated against the perpetrators' of the act by the authorities concerned as demanded by the United Naga Council and other Naga organisations.
Meanwhile, the Maring Marnorap Delhi (MMD) also condemned the killing and said that “this shakes our faith and the existing harmony the Maring tribe has maintained thus far.” The MMD condemned what it termed as “the outright act of interrogating innocent civilians for proof of communal identity which have led to undesirable conflicts and many lost lives.”
It urged the Government of India and the Government of Manipur to immediately address this atrocity and appealed to its federating brethrens to stand together for justice. The MMD said that it stands for peace and do not welcome nor invite any provocation that might inflict more violence of any manner.
It must be noted here that the Manipur Police on July 16 informed that nine persons has been arrested in connection Saturday’s killing.
The arrested individuals include five women, informed an update by the Manipur Police on Twitter.
In connection with the case, two arms and five ammunitions as well as a car were seized, it added.
Meanwhile, in connection with the killing, the United Naga Council (UNC) observed a 12-hour “total shutdown in all the Naga areas in Manipur” from 6 am to 6 pm on July 17.
Blockade was also imposed on the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway (NH-2), as Committee on Tribal Unity Sadar Hills (CTUSH), Kangpokpi announced a 72-hour total blockade in protest against the attacks, torching of houses, and killing of Kuki-Zo people, IANS news agency reported on Monday.
