Kuki-Zo bodies demand revocation of Shaurya Chakra to CRPF officer
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Guwahati: Kuki-Zo organisations in violence-affected Manipur on Monday condemned the Centre’s decision to confer the Shaurya Chakra on a CRPF officer, arguing that the move effectively legitimised what they described as an extrajudicial killing and calling for the award to be withdrawn.
According to an official statement, the gallantry medal was given to CRPF Assistant Commandant Vipin Wilson of the force’s 20th battalion for his role in foiling an alleged armed attack on a CRPF camp in the Borobekra area of Jiribam district on November 11, 2024. The CRPF said the officer had shown exceptional courage in the operation.
The decision, however, drew sharp criticism from the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) and the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF).
KOHUR said the honour amounted to state approval of the killing of ten Kuki-Zo (Hmar) village volunteers, rather than a moment of national pride. The group claimed that forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts indicated that those killed were civilians who were either unarmed or only lightly armed, and were engaged in community defence during the ethnic conflict, TNIE reported.
According to the organisation, branding the victims as militants was a constructed narrative intended to justify excessive and one-sided use of lethal force, and the incident could not be described as a genuine encounter but rather an execution.
KOHUR demanded that the Shaurya Chakra and all related commendations be revoked, and called for an independent probe monitored by the Supreme Court with the involvement of credible human rights observers. It also sought prosecution of personnel found responsible for unlawful killings, misuse of force and attempts to conceal the facts.
The ITLF, in its statement, said the ten tribal volunteers had gone to Jiribam to safeguard their community following the alleged killing of a Hmar woman by Meitei militants a week earlier. It rejected claims that the group had any reason to attack a CRPF camp, asserting that the men were largely daily-wage workers from different villages and not trained insurgents, as alleged by authorities.
The ITLF said the decision to honour the CRPF officer reflected what it described as continuing discrimination and injustice faced by the Kuki-Zo tribal communities in Manipur.