Heirok pays tribute to Yaoshang victims a year later

SPOs call for work and completion of barracks, villagers ask militants to lift ban on free movement

Villagers pay floral tribute at the memorial in Heirok on Tuesday. Picture by Eastern Projections Imphal, March 25 : Exactly a year ago, a nondescript village in Manipur, Heirok, shot into the state’s collective consciousness as the villagers, for the first time, came out openly against militants. The village today remembered the three youths who were gunned down by militants on this day last year, triggering a massive uprising against rebels and paving the way for recruitment of special police officers (SPOs). A large number of people, including local Congress legislator M. Oken Singh, paid floral tributes at the memorial developed at the graveyard of the victims — Romesh Singh, Promila Devi and Nirmala Devi. The memorial service, named Enlightened Day, was organised by the Romesh, Promila and Nirmala Memorial Trust. The People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Prepak) had gunned down two girls and seriously wounded another while targeting a youth, who was also killed during Yaoshang (Holi) festival in the village last year. An angry Heirok rose as one and the Okram Ibobi Singh government responded to its demand for arming the villagers for self-protection by recruiting 301 SPOs from the village. This was the first time in insurgency-infested Manipur that villagers were recruited as part of the government’s strategy to contain militancy. The SPOs, after completing their police training, are now staying home without any work as the government is yet to complete construction of three barracks in the village. They attend roll call daily — in the morning and afternoon — at the IRB post in the village. The SPOs today called for completion of the barracks and assignment of work. “We are yet to be given any work. The government should complete construction of the barracks and allow us to protect our own village,” Thokchom Romen, a company commander of the Heirok force, said. The SPOs, who get a monthly remuneration of Rs 3,000 each, contributed Rs 15,000 for organising the memorial service. The president of the trust, Thokchom Ranjan, said, “We will observe the day as Enlightened Day every year to remember the victims”. Heirok has been restricting entertainment programmes ever since the Yaoshang bloodshed. The villagers today enjoyed a Shumang leela play, the most popular traditional theatre form in the state. The ban is, however, still on at night. The villagers also appealed to the United National Liberation Front and the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup to lift the ban imposed on their movement outside Heirok. The militants had imposed the ban after Heirok accepted the SPO force.