The displaced villagers of Torbung on Wednesday raised strong objections against turning the village located in Bishnupur district into a cemetary and urged not to bury any narco-terrorists at Torbung.
The stranded villagers who are presently taking shelter at relief camps announced that they will return back and resettle in their villages from August 4. The villagers also warned of serious consequences if their village is converted into cemeteries of the narco-terrorists who have been killed in the clash.
“We will return back to our village at Torbung on August 4 and if we meet any unwanted incidents, then the state and the Central government should be held responsible for that,” said one Loitongbam Surchand, a displaced villager at Manipur Press Club on Wednesday.
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He said that the people of Torbung will not allow the conversion of their villages into cemeteries.
The residents of villages under Torbung Gram Panchayat, namely Torbung Bangla, Waikhurok, Torbung Govindapur, Torbung Bazar, Torbung Sabal Leikai, Kangvai, Phougakchao Kkhai, and Phagakchao Ikhai Awang Leikai have been staying at relief camps opened in Imphal since the outbreak of violence in May 3.
Surchand asked both the state and Central government if they had given any permission for burying the dead bodies of the Kuki community at Torbung Bangla. He said that allowing the burial at Torbung Bangla is in violation of international law and is an invitation for a religious civil war.
The displaced people from villages under Torbung Gram Panchayat have appealed to the government to remove all armed narco-terrorists before August 3, failing which the government should be held responsible for anything that happens in the aftermath, he said.
RK Babita Devi, a representative of Meira Paibi from Torbung Govindapur said that Torbung village is one of the first places where the Kuki started attacking Meiteis. She said that they fled for their lives after the Kukis backed by the armed Narco-terrorists started attacking the villagers on May 3.
“We had left everything after they started attacking us. We came only with the clothes we wore that day,” Babita said.
As the Meitei people of villages under Torbung Bangla Gram Panchayat had not made any preparations for facing an attack, they had to run away from their villages. She said that the attack on the villages was a pre-planned strategy of the Kuki militants. Had they known about that, then they would have fought them, she added.
“We do not want war but we are not afraid of them. This time, we will face them with whatever we have,” Babita told media persons.
