Shutdown in Manipur's Kangpokpi district over killing of 2 Kukis

Imphal: Normal life in Manipur's Kangpokpi district has been affected by a shutdown called by the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) to protest the killing of two Kukis on Monday.

All educational institutions and business establishments are closed and traffic has been disrupted as volunteers enforced the shutdown by blocking the movement of vehicles on the national highway and other roads. The shutdown has also affected government and private offices.

Two persons were killed, including an Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) soldier, after unidentified miscreants attacked them in the district on Monday. A Kuki tribal group based in Kangpokpi (a Kuki majority district) called the shutdown to protest the killings.

The shutdown has also disrupted the ongoing economic blockade imposed by COTU along stretches of NH2 and NH37, two national highways connecting Manipur's capital Imphal. The blockade has been in place since last week and is scheduled to end on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, security personnel have intensified combing operations in the area but no arrests have been made in connection with the killing of two people on Monday. "Following the killings, there were some sporadic incidents of intermittent firing and attempts to disturb normalcy but security personnel were able to bring the situation under control. There is relative peace in the area at present," said an army official.

Since May 3, ethnic violence between Meitei and tribal Kuki communities has claimed the lives of 181 people in Manipur. The conflict has also displaced over 50,000 people from their homes.