Jiribam violence: Security stepped up in Lakhipur after refugee influx

A Correspondent 

Silchar: After communal violence escalated in Manipur on June 6, the petrified people of Jiribam started to move to neighbouring Lakhipur in the Cachar district of Assam to take shelter. Lakhipur MLA Kausik Rai said at least 800 people belonging to the Meitei, Kuki, and Hmar communities in Manipur crossed the Jiri River to reach Cachar for safety. Following the influx, Cachar police stepped up uninterrupted vigil in the various tribal punjis in Lakhipur, where the displaced people of Jiribam had taken shelter. However, no relief camp has been set up yet. 

On Monday, Rai convened a peace meeting in the area where at least 150 people from all three communities who had taken shelter exchanged opinions and vowed to maintain peace in Cachar. District Magistrate Rohan Kumar Jha, while addressing the meeting, made it clear that in no way would anyone attempting to disrupt peace in Cachar be spared. 

Violence broke out in Jiribam, bordering Assam and Manipur, following the brutal murder of a local youth. Manipur has witnessed widespread ethnic violence since last year, which led to a few thousand people from various ethnic tribes taking shelter in Cachar. Even Meitei Manipuris from Mizoram came down to Lakhipur for safety reasons. The recent outbreak of violence again witnessed a similar influx of displaced people from Jiribam.

 Local MLA Kausik Rai, along with SP Nomal Mahatta, had visited various tribal localities in Lakhipur in an exercise to maintain peace in Cachar. Rai said the Assam government had extended all basic services to the displaced people, but at the same time, strict vigilance had been ensured so that no violence could spread here. “Lakhipur, with its mixed population, is a peaceful place, and this communal harmony cannot be compromised for tension in a neighbouring state,” Rai said.

SP Nomal Mahatta said the Chief Minister Office had been closely monitoring the situation in Lakhipur, and the district police had been instructed to make a proper list of the displaced people who had taken shelter in Cachar with their names and addresses. “Till now, no untoward incident has taken place in Cachar. But we have intensified our vigil throughout the day. We have asked the people of all the communities to avoid any rumours spreading on social media,”  Mahatta informed.

 Also Read: Manipur CM's Advance Security Convoy Ambushed; One Personnel Injured in Jiribam (sentinelassam.com)

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