Imphal, May 19: Manipur Police registered a case at the cyber crime police station here and launched a massive search operation to nab the concerned people who recently gave threat messages to the Meitei community against entering Kuki tribal-dominated areas during the upcoming Shirui Lily Festival.
Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla recently chaired the organising committee meeting of the Shirui Lily Festival, 2025 to be held in the state’s Ukhrul district from May 20 to 24. The 80 km route from the state capital Imphal to Ukhrul passes through a few Kuki tribal inhabited villages.
A senior police official on Monday said that some unknown individuals and organisations allegedly of the Kuki tribal community have issued threat messages mostly on various social media platforms to the Meitei community, planning to visit the Shirui lily Festival in Ukhrul.
“Any such threats are taken seriously and inquired into promptly. So far, these organisations are found to be nonexistent,” the official said. He said that a number of credible Kuki tribal organisations have also come out in the past, dissociating themselves from such unknown organisations.
A criminal case has been registered at the cyber crime police station 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 Lily Festival, the official said.
He said that regular security reviews are being conducted, and senior officers are deployed to supervise the security arrangements. The public is requested to cooperate in this regard, he added.
Meanwhile, Manipur Police on Saturday launched a search operation and requested four neighbouring northeastern states — Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland and Meghalaya — to nab a Kuki organisation leader who recently warned members of the Meitei community.
Manipur Police in a statement had said that Paojakhup Guite, President of the Delhi unit of Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), threatened the Meitei community not to cross the buffer zone to attend the upcoming Shirui Lily Festival in Ukhrul district, which is inhabited by the Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal community.
“A video of Guite’s threat to the Meitei community people was earlier circulated on social media,” the statement said, adding that police in Churachandpur district have registered an FIR and all efforts, including raids in nearby districts, are being made for his immediate arrest. Manipur Police have earlier refuted the existence of a group calling itself the ‘Kuki Zo Village Volunteers Eastern Zone’, which also recently reportedly circulated a statement warning members of the Meitei community against entering Kuki-dominated areas during the festival.
The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of the Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal community, also did not support the ‘Kuki Zo Village Volunteers Eastern Zone’ reported warning to the Meitei community.
Shirui Lily Festival, mostly organised by the Meitei community, is celebrated in honour of the state flower, Shirui Lily. The celebration is during the peak blooming season of the Shirui Lily, a rare and endangered flower that can only be found in Manipur. Shirui lily grows on top of the Shirui hills in Ukhrul district and cannot be replanted anywhere else in the world.
The state flower of Manipur fills the air with its pleasant fragrance during the blooming season. The festival is observed primarily with an aim to spread awareness and conserve the endangered state flower.
The festival provides an opportunity for people from various communities and tribes to come together, explore the highest hill station of Manipur, the picturesque Ukhrul district and get deeper insights about the Tangkhul Naga tribe dwelling here.
IANS