GUWAHATI: A seven-second video from May 4 purportedly showing a man with a disfigured face and his body aflame has emerged in strife-torn Manipur, touching a raw nerve in a state that is still to heal from the horrors of the violence wrought by mobs and militants for over four months.
The Manipur government's security adviser, Kuldiep Singh, told reporters on Monday that the burning man in black T-shirt and camouflage trousers had been identified as Laldinthanga Khongsai (37), alias Lal James, from Paokhongching under Nongpok Sekmai police station in Kangpokpi district.
Singh said Laldinthanga's body was among the victims of the ethnic strife still lying unclaimed in the morgue of Imphal's Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences and two other state-run hospitals.
"The case is being referred to the CBI. The man was killed on May 4, the same day two women were paraded naked by a mob and the act was captured in a video that went viral more than two months later," he said. The video of the tribal women being paraded naked — one of them was allegedly gang-raped after a mob killed her father and brother — plunged the state into a fresh spiral of violence and mistrust.
The emergence of a video purportedly showing a tribal man being immolated over five months ago coincides with security forces recovering a cache of arms and ammunition looted from state armouries during the peak of the ethnic unrest.
Singh said the seizures were made on the first day of combing operations in Imphal East, Churachandpur, Imphal West, Kakching and Thoubal districts.
About 1,200 of the 4,000-odd weapons of various types snatched by mobs have been recovered. The security adviser said the operation would continue until all the looted weapons were retrieved.
On Sunday, the state government issued an order banning processions, rallies, protests, gatherings and all public meetings using loudspeakers in six districts — Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Kakching, Thoubal, Imphal East and Imphal West — without prior official consent. The order, issued under Section 144 of the CrPC, states that any group wanting to hold a rally or organise a gathering for any reason must seek permission from the district magistrate.
The order isn't applicable to police officers, members of the armed forces, paramilitary personnel or government employees participating in official processions or meetings with the district magistrate's written consent.
CM Biren Singh said on Saturday that law and order in Manipur had improved enough for his government to shift its focus back to development. Less than 24 hours later, a grenade hurled from a motorbike towards BJP minister Yumnam Khemchand's house in Imphal West exploded near the main gate, injuring a relative of his and a CRPF sentry.
