Normal life was severely disrupted across Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Monday as a 24-hour shutdown over the killing of 71-year-old Hemjang Haokip brought traffic and commercial activity to a halt.
The shutdown, called by the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), began at midnight following the recovery of Haokip’s body on Sunday. Haokip had been abducted from his farm hut on October 3. His body was found late on Sunday afternoon after villagers and security forces carried out a search operation.
The body was taken to the Kangpokpi district headquarters later on Sunday night and subsequently shifted to Churachandpur, where it was kept at a morgue for preservation.
The protest action affected almost all routine activity in the district. Shops, business establishments, schools and private institutions remained shut, while government office functioning was also disrupted. Traffic on National Highway-2 was stopped, except for vehicles and services covered by the shutdown exemptions.
At Bongmol village, volunteers, mainly women, took control of the road to enforce the shutdown. Vehicles were stopped and documents were checked before those claiming exemption were allowed to proceed. The exempted category included media vehicles as well as vehicles involved in medical emergencies and airport-related services.
Traffic along NH-2 came to a standstill as several vehicles were stopped at Bongmol and forced to turn back. Benches were placed across the highway, preventing vehicles from passing through the area.
The shutdown reflected widespread anger and grief over Haokip’s killing, which has triggered strong reactions within the Kuki-Zo community following his abduction and subsequent death.
Central security forces remained deployed along the highway to monitor the situation.
No untoward incident was reported till the filing of this report.
