Locals call for deployment of additional State security forces at Sekmai
Source: The Sangai Express
Thoubal, May 27 2023:
Locals of Nongpok Sekmai Toubul Khunou staged a sit-in protest today demanding deployment of more State security forces to guard the properties of those who have fled the village.
According to a statement issued by Dwijamani Sharma, publicity secretary, North Eastern Sporting Association (NESA), Nongpok Sekmai Toubul Khunou is located adjacent to the Kuki villages of Thoubal and Kangpokpi districts.
Owing to the recent outbreak of violence and the vulnerable location of the village, a majority of the fifty households in the village have fled to relief camps and other safer destinations.
Only ten households have remained who continue to guard the properties of those who have fled as well as the village in general, the statement said.
Thoubal SP has dispatched a team of commandos to guard the village at night.
However, the villagers are fearful as the village is left without the protection of any security forces during the daytime, it added.
The villagers at today's protest have also shared apprehension of an imminent attack on the village by suspected Kuki militants who have reportedly been seen passing through the village on many occasions.
Stating that the ongoing turmoil has affected daily wage earners, such as the villagers, the most, they have appealed to the State Govt to deploy additional State security forces to safeguard the properties of the villagers and the village itself.