Two leading Kuki-Zo women organisations on Wednesday sought a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the death of three Hmar youths in the custody of Assam police following protest rallies in five districts of Manipur and one in Assam.

The rallies, organised by the Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) and Hmar Women Association (HWA) to “seek” justice for the deceased youth, were held in Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, Chandel, Pherzwal and Jiribam districts of strife-hit Manipur and Dima Hasao district of Assam.

After the rally in Churachandpur in Manipur, one of the epicentres of the ongoing conflict between Kuki-Zo and Meiteis in Manipur, submitted a memorandum to Union home minister Amit Shah through the deputy commissioner wherein it requested the “constitution of a special probe team headed by judges of Supreme Court for a detailed investigation” into the “extra-judicial killings” of the three youths from the Kuki-Zo community in Assam’s Cachar district, which shares boundary with Manipur.

The Cachar police, which had apprehended the youths from the Hmar community, a part of the greater Zo community, had said the deceased trio had led the police team during a special operation to the hideout of suspected militants taking shelter in Bhuban Hills in Cachar district. However, the police team came under attack from the “suspected militants” and the three died of injuries they suffered in the resultant crossfire, the police have said.

Dressed in black, the protesters turned out in large numbers with banners and placards to protest against the “fake-encounter killings”. The mother of one of the youths (Joshua Lalrinsang, 35, of Pherzwal district), who participated in the protest rally at Senvon in Pherzwal district, held a placard that said “Every Lives Matter/End fake encounters now”.

The other deceased hailed from Assam’s Cachar district — Lalungawi Hmar, 21, and Lalbiekkung Hmar, 33.

This is the second protest to be held since Monday seeking justice for the deceased youths after the one held in a Hmar village in Lakhipur sub-division of Assam’s Cachar district where the youths died in the wee hours of last Wednesday in crossfire during an encounter with the police team had with suspected militants in Bhuban Hills.

The Kuki-Zo women organisations’ joint memorandum has mentioned about two video clips in support of their demand for a thorough impartial probe. In the first video, the memorandum said, the “deceased individual cooperating with the police and showing no signs of resistance during the arrest”.

Another video, the memorandum said, “The deceased individuals were kneeling on the ground, blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs, being harassed by police officers. This disturbing footage showcases the vulnerable position in which the deceased men were placed, as they faced potential threats to their lives by such egregious abuses of power by justice.”

The memorandum said that apart from “violations” of fundamental rights and “protection given by the law to suspects, it is evident that the deceased youths were denied their Right to Equality under Article 14 of the Constitution” and they were also “denied their right to a fair trial guaranteed to them by the Constitution under Article 21”.

Cachar police said during interrogation that the trio revealed their “accomplices” were taking shelter around Bhuban Hills “with a huge cache of arms to carry out some subversive activities in the Assam-Manipur border area”.