The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), in a representation to Union home minister Amit Shah, has flagged the post-mortem reports of the 10 Kuki-Zo men killed in a gunfight with police and CRPF personnel in Jiribam on November 11 which revealed they were “shot from the back, proving that they were not engaged in a gunfight”.

The two-page representation was submitted after the burial of the 12 Kuki-Zo men in Churachandpur on Thursday, including the 10 killed in the gunfight, amid the presence of thousands of mourners. A delegation from Mizoram, including Young Mizo Association (CYMA) leaders and Ginzalal Hauzel, the adviser to the Mizoram chief minister, also attended the funeral.

The ITLF, a conglomerate of recognised tribes from Churachandpur district of strife-hit Manipur, reminded the Centre that it has been 19 months since the outbreak of the ethnic conflict and the minority Kuki-Zo community continues “to suffer at the hands of Meitei militants, the communal state government, and now at the hands of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)”.

“Claims that the 10 volunteers were militants and they died while attacking Borobekra police station and a nearby CRPF camp are blatantly false. The men and the entire Kuki-Zo community had nothing to gain and everything to lose from attacking central security forces. We have repeatedly stressed that we would never attack central forces and have been demanding the President’s Rule since the beginning of the conflict so that security forces can better enforce peace. It is the Meitei community that has consistently opposed the President’s Rule,” the ITLF said.

The police had said the “armed militants” were killed in retaliatory firing when they had attacked the Borobekra PS housing a relief camp and a CRPF post nearby in Jiribam district.

The ITLF said the recent flare-up was “worrying” for the minority community because “10 tribals were killed by the CRPF, which was supposed to act as a neutral force”.

The ITLF then flagged the post-mortem reports of the deceased, which revealed the men were “shot from the back, proving that they were not engaged in a gunfight with security forces when they were gunned down.”

“They were most likely ambushed or murdered after being captured. Also, all of them were shot multiple times...,” the memorandum said.

Permission denied

The Opposition INDIA Bloc members from Manipur were denied permission to observe a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Friday to draw attention towards the plight of a state in turmoil for over 19 months now.

However, they submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the PMO by afternoon, inviting him to visit the state before the year runs out so that people can “place their voices of helplessness” before him, Manipur PCC president K Meghachandra Singh, told The Telegraph.