Weaponized drones to abduction and cold blooded massacre of 6 : A brief recap of year 2024
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 30 2024: From weaponized drones to disappearance of a contract worker from a fortified Army camp at Leimakhong and the killing of hostages by Kuki militants in Jiribam, Manipur in 2024 was filled to the brim with stories of human tragedy that shocked the conscience of the people of Manipur and beyond.

Will peace ever return to Manipur? Will the internally displaced people be able to return home and start a new life in their respective villages ? Will all those who were killed and separated from their families for no fault of theirs ever get justice ? Will Manipur ever heal ?

Weaponized drones to abduction and cold blooded massacre of 6 : A brief recap of year 2024

These are the questions which continue to haunt the people of all walks of life other than those who reap benefits by stoking the violence and letting Manipur burn.

As 2024 draws to a close, The Sangai Express looks back at some of the major and defining events of 2024 .

The defeat of BJP

With growing irritation towards the BJP in both the hills and valley, the Congress secured a big win in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and the outcome wasn't a surprise.

The Parliamentary election was held in May 2024 .

Congress won both the seats with Prof Angomcha Bimol Akoijam defeating BJP's Th Basanta Kumar Singh by over 1.09 lakh votes in the Inner Manipur Constituency and Alfred Kanngam S Arthur winning the Outer seat by more than 85,000 against Kachui Timothy Zimik of the Naga People's Front.

Sadly, May 2024 also marked the completion of one year of the unrest in Manipur, a painful chapter.

'Weaponized drones'

September 1 marked the escalation of violence as it was on this day that the use of weaponized drones shocked Manipur.

As per reports, Kuki militants dropped about 50 bombs on that day using weaponized drones at Koutruk and Kadangband in broad daylight, ending a three-month break in violence and leaving one woman dead and injuring 10 others.

The next day, another drone strike in Senjam Chirang left three injured and on September 6, rockets were fired into Moirang by Kuki militants, killing one.

Failed attempt on peace

The Union Home Ministry, on October 15, held a meeting with MLAs belonging to the Meitei, Kuki and Naga communities to find an amicable solution to the ongoing violence in Manipur, the first such initiative after the ethnic conflict began on May 3 last year.

What transpired during the meeting is still shrouded in mystery.

However, the Home Ministry issued a brief statement after the meeting without sharing details such as who all participated or whether it was a joint meeting or a separate meeting.

"A group of elected members of Manipur Assembly, representing Kuki-Zo-Hmar, Meitei and Naga communities, met in New Delhi today to discuss the current scenario in the State.

The meeting unanimously resolved to appeal to the people of the State belonging to all communities to shun the path of violence so that no more precious lives of innocent citizens are lost," was the only thing the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

It may be mentioned that the Government spokesman Health Minister Dr Ranjan evaded media persons at Bir Tikendrajit International Airport on his return from New Delhi after attending the meeting as he came out from the entry lounge instead and left the airport discreetly.

Four Kuki-Zo MLAs, on the other hand, said that they only met Home Ministry officials and did not participate in the joint meeting with Naga and Meitei MLAs.

Distressing November

From the abduction and killing of six including a toddler to the disappearance of a civilian from Army camp at Leimakhong, November inflicted immense human suffering and forever scarred many families.

The tragedy in November began with the killing of a 31-year-old Hmar woman in a village in Jiribam district on 7th of the month.

Days later, 10 armed Kuki militants who came to attack a police station and a nearby CRPF camp at Jakuradhor in Jiribam were gunned down by security forces on November 11 .

The Kuki militants, however, managed to abduct six Meetei civilians (three women and three children) including a toddler on that fateful day amid the chaos.

Protests were staged, pleas were made to release the hostages on humanitarian ground, but the sadistic terrorists didn't show any remorse as they didn't spare any of the six, including the toddler.

Bodies of the six were found floating in Jiri and Barak Rivers days later.

They were tortured.

Another painful event that took place in the already regretful month was the mysterious disappearance of Laishram Kamalbabu (56) from inside Leimakhong Army camp on November 25 .

He was engaged in contract work inside the Army camp and his disappearance sparked widespread outrage.

Some say he may have been abducted by Kuki militants and some others say he might have already been killed.

All assumptions, but his whereabouts remain unknown as much as the way his disappearance was mysterious.

He entered the Army camp but there is no evidence of him leaving the campus as per the log book of the Army camp.

Sadly, this is not the first case of people disappearing without a clue amid the violence in Manipur.

Exchanging hostage with prisoners

One September 27, three youths who went to participate in an Army recruitment drive at Keithelmanbi ended up wandering into Kuki areas.

They were taken captive, not suprisingly but fortunately one was rescued as quickly as possible but the two remained missing for days before they were exchanged with Kuki prisoners.

The two abducted persons were released with the intervention of Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) on October 3 after the Kuki group held a round of talks with Government representatives to transfer all Kuki-Zo inmates from Sajiwa Central Jail to Churachandpur.

Prayer for peace

Even as Ministers, MLAs and different organisations poured in prayer for peace in their greetings to the people this festive season, gunfights went on for five days at Yaingangpokpi area with Kuki militants intending to keep Manipur on the boil.

As former Chief Justice Siddharth Mridul had rightly put, an invisible hand seems to be fuelling the violence in Manipur.

Some other notable events that took place in Manipur this year include Congress leader Rahul Gandhi commencing his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur on January 14, 2024, shutting down of all internet services and periodic extension of the ban and the appointment of Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla as the new Governor.