Imphal, May 19: Manipur Police on Sunday said that a criminal case has been registered against threat messages to people of Meitei community planning to attend the state-level 5th Shirui Lily festival.
The case has been registered at the Cyber Crime police station.
In a post on X, Manipur Police said, “A criminal case has been registered at Cyber Crime PS in this regard and all out effort shall be made to arrest them. All precautionary security measures are in place to ensure security for the movement of people attending the Shirui Festival.”
It said, “Some unknown individual and organisation allegedly of Kuki community have issued threat messages to Meiteis, who are planning to visit Shirui festival in Ukhrul today, mostly on various social media platforms.”
The police said all precautionary security measures are in place to ensure security for the movement of people attending the Shirui Festival.
The police statement came in the wake of circulation of some purported videos on social media in which individuals allegedly from Kuki community openly threatened that “no Meiteis who come to attend Shirui Lily festival will leave alive.”
The Shirui Lily festival will be held in Ukhrul district from May 20 to May 24. The 80 km route from Imphal to Ukhrul passes through a few Kuki villages.
Police said, “Any such threats are taken seriously and inquired into promptly. So far, these organisations are found to be non-existent. It may be mentioned that a number of credible Kuki organisations have also come out in the past dissociating themselves from such unknown organisations.”
The police also said that “regular security review is being taken and senior officers deployed to supervise the security arrangement. The public is requested to cooperate in this regard.”
Manipur Police on Saturday had filed an FIR against the president of Kuki Students’ Organisation Delhi for threatening to stop Meiteis from attending the Shirui Lily festival in Ukhrul district.
The Shirui festival is held in honour of the state flower Shirui Lily, which is found in the hills of the Tangkhul Naga-majority Ukhrul district.
More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups, who are the majority in the hill areas, since May 2023.
The Centre imposed President’s rule in Manipur on February 13 after N Biren Singh resigned as chief minister. The assembly, which has tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.(PTI)
