Unidentified miscreants burned down a farmhouse of Dr Seilen Haokip, spokesperson of the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), located at Songpi village in Churachandpur late Monday, around 11:30 pm.
As per information received from SP Churachandpur, the farmhouse of the KNO leader, located at Songpi village under Churachandpur PS, was burned down by unidentified miscreants around 11pm-11:30 pm.
The incident occurred soon after the 60-day blockade on NH-2 was lifted based on a decision by the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People’s Front (UPF) on Tuesday, of which Dr Seilen Haokip was the signatory of the KNO as its spokesperson; UPF spokesperson Aaron Kipgen was the other signatory.
The decision to lift the roadblock was announced after a 19-member team comprising Kuki-Zo civil society organisations and representatives of the UPF and the KNO met a senior BJP functionary in Assam’s Kaziranga on June 30, The Hindu reported. The decision was taken to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential commodities to all parts of the state.
On Sunday, the KNO and the UPF said that the decision to lift the highway blockade was taken keeping in view Union Minister Amit Shah’s “deep concern to restore peace and harmony in the state and alleviate the plight of people in general”. They said the blockade would be lifted with immediate effect “to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential commodities in the state”.
On Monday night, KNO spokesperson Seilen Haokip’s house was burned down by “unknown miscreants”, according to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum’s media team.
Interestingly, this is the first prominent instance of a Kuki-Zomi leader’s residence being targeted in a Kuki-Zomi-dominated area.
Talking to a national daily, Haokip said that while the attack “appears” to be a fallout of the decision, there could still be other reasons. He added that such an incident will not affect their decision on the blockade.
“It wasn’t done as a mob attack. It was done quietly in the night… When you’re on a peace offensive, you cannot back down over an individual or two trying to show dissent. Even if it’s mob action, it’s different,” he said.
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