IMPHAL: A Kuki organisation in Manipur's Kangpokpi district on Friday, November 6, announced a seven-day suspension of its six-day-old total shutdown, citing the partial fulfilment of its demands and assurances from the state government on the rest.
The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), based in Kangpokpi, said the decision was taken in view of the government's assurance to address outstanding demands. It warned that if the assurances were not honoured within seven days, the agitation, including the total shutdown, would resume with renewed intensity.
COTU called the shutdown from Sunday after the mutilated bodies of two youths who had gone missing last week from near Taphou Kuki village were found in a hilly area of neighbouring Senapati district. The bodies were found stuffed in gunny bags at a banana farm during an operation to trace them, and were identified as T Chongloi (21) and Paoginlal Hangsing (20).
The organisation had demanded the removal of Deputy Chief Minister L Dikho, an NIA probe into the killings and the extension of Kangpokpi police jurisdiction to Taphou Kuki village.
The shutdown had severely disrupted the movement of goods trucks along National Highway 2, leaving vehicles stranded in neighbouring Senapati district. NH-2 connects Imphal with Dimapur in Nagaland and passes through Kangpokpi.
(With inputs from PTI)