“We have to bear some pain to save our home,” said N Viramohan Singh, one of the 83 inmates living at the Borobekra relief camp in Jiribam district of Manipur, a month after it was attacked, killing eight of its Meitei inmates. .
The relief camp, within the premises of the Borobekra police station and adjacent to the CRPF post, was one of the most violent incidents of the ongoing conflict in Manipur, on November 11. The attack was carried out by armed men identified by the police as Hamar terrorists, 10 of whom were shot dead by security forces deployed there. Two inmates of the relief camp were found dead nearby, while three women and three children were abducted and killed.
A relief camp is an island. Its inmates are residents of a small group of nearby Meitei villages, and it is the only such Meitei settlement in the Borobekra sub-division of Jiribam district, which borders the Hamar-dominated Ferzwal district. This cluster of villages is surrounded by Hamar and Bengali villages.
Despite their fear after the incident, more than 80 residents are still living there. when The Indian Express Visited the relief camp the day after the attack, the prisoners wanted to get away from the center, but could not because there were many Hamar villages on the way to Ziribum.
However, since then, around 25 prisoners – most of them elderly, children and those in need of medical care – have been shifted to Jiribam town, some by helicopter and some under protective cover provided by the Assam Rifles.
Plan to stay the rest.
It is said that the government has a policy to build a house for us after the situation normalizes and security arrangements will be tightened to keep us safe. Security personnel are on duty day and night. Children who are sick and need to go to school have been evacuated. If we all leave, the insurgents will dominate the area completely, and we will never be able to return,” said Virmohan Singh.
Asked if he had changed his mind about finding a safe way out of the relief camp, N Rosendro, another prisoner, said, “We have not changed our mind, but the government suggested we stay here and promised to take care of us. Necessity and security. With 24×7 security, all the essential items are coming regularly from the respective agencies. Security Adviser Kuldeep Singh was also here last week. So we feel safe for now. “
During the ongoing violence in Manipur, Meites have been pushed out of Kuki-Jo majority areas such as Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts and the Indo-Myanmar border town of Moreh, while Kuki-Jos have been pushed out of Imphal and the rest of the region. of the Meitei-dominated valley.
Most Kuki and Hamar families fled Jiribum town after violence broke out in the mixed-population district of Jiribum in June this year, while many Meites left the Borobekra area and moved to Jiribum town. But there are pockets near the town of Jiribam where kukis and hummers live. These include the village of Ziron, which was attacked by suspected Meitei gunmen in November, the death of a school teacher, and the Borobekra relief camp.
Earlier this week, the Tribal Advocates Committee, a group representing the Hamars of Jiribam and Ferzwal, pointed to the displacement of Kuki and Hamar tribesmen from Jiribam town, demanded the relocation of relief camp inmates and warned of “further escalation of violence.”
“ITAC urges the Manipur government to relocate the Meitei community living in Jakuradhor Manipur Police Camp to Jiribam town to avoid further escalation of violence in Ferjwal and Jiribam districts. The Kuki-Jomi-Hamar tribes living in Jiribam town were forced from their homes by AT (Arambai Tengol) and valley-based banned Meitei terrorists. With the help of Manipur State Army and Commando, AT And Meite terrorists torched their houses and property, including educational institutions and places of worship,” it said in a statement.
An official of the district administration office said that efforts are being made to keep the prisoners in the relief camp where they are.
“If the people are completely evacuated, there is a possibility of total encroachment. Instead, security has been beefed up to ensure that no untoward incident reoccurs,” the official said.
According to a Jiribam police official, two more companies of the CRPF are expected to be deployed in Borobekra, apart from the two companies and 47 personnel present at the Borobekra police station.
A security official also said that additional forces from the Army and Assam Rifles have been deployed in Jiribam, including Borobekra, following the implementation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the district after the November 11 incident.
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