GUWAHATI: Kuki families evacuated by security forces from Imphal city in a post-midnight operation last Sept to purportedly shield them from ethnic violence alleged on Thursday that the houses they left behind in the New Lambulane locality have since been illegally occupied.
Church official S Prim Vaiphei, who was among the evacuees, said "armed militias" had started taking over the unoccupied houses and accommodated "their people".
"This illegal occupation of our houses is happening under the noses of Imphal East district administration and central security forces," Vaiphei alleged, terming it a violation of Supreme Court's order to Manipur govt on September 25 last year to protect the properties of those displaced by ethnic violence.
Vaiphei appealed to Supreme Court to take cognisance of such "disregard for its directives".
Imphal East DSP K Meghachandra Singh said police had taken steps to prevent this after "receiving inputs about some people trying to take over some abandoned houses in New Lambulane".
"These people say they have been living in relief camps and want to shift to better places such as abandoned houses. We sent officers to the location and did not allow anyone to do so." Singh said police had started a survey to find out if any abandoned house had been illegally occupied. "If we come across any such home, we will get it vacated," he promised.
A total of 10 tribal families, said to be the last remaining Kukis in Imphal, were woken up in the dead of night and escorted by security forces to a place 27km away in tribal-dominant Kangpokpi district. While some of them are sheltered in relief camps, the rest have been staying with relatives for the past five months.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Prabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is curren...
Read MorePrabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is currently the Chief of Bureau (northeast). He has been reporting in mainstream Indian national media since 2001. He has been a field journalist reporting gamut of issues from India’s northeastern region and major developments in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh concerning India and northeastern region. He has been covering insurgency—internal and cross-border, politics, natural calamities, environment etc. He is a post-graduate in Geological Sciences from Gauhati University.
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