Items worth Rs 1.5 cr looted during attack on Manipur MLA's home

The mother of Janata Dal-United MLA Kh Joykishan Singh in Manipur has lodged a complaint, alleging that Rs 18 lakh in cash and jewellery items worth Rs 1.5 crore were looted by a mob that vandalised the legislator's residence on November 16, police said on Thursday.

Several items kept at the MLA's residence in West Imphal's Thangmeiband area for internally displaced people were also destroyed during the attack, a senior officer said.

"The mother of Thangmeiband constituency legislator Kh Joykishan Singh filed a complaint with the Imphal Police Station that Rs 18 lakh in cash and several valuable items worth Rs 1.5 crore were looted and destroyed during a mob attack. An FIR has been registered," the police officer told PTI.

The mob vandalised the residence of the legislator for about two hours on the November 16 evening, he said.

Notably, the MLA was in Delhi due to medical treatment for one of his family members when the mob attacked his residence last week.

An internally displaced person, staying in a relief camp set up at Tombisana Higher Secondary School in Thangmeiband, a few meters away from the residence of Joykishan, said, "Vegetables like potatoes and onions, and other items such as winter clothes were kept for people like us. All these materials were looted."

"We urged the mob not to vandalise the residence of the MLA as several items meant for distribution among displaced people were kept there," Sanayai, a volunteer who manages the relief camp under the supervision of Joykishan, said.

Lockers, electronics goods and furniture were vandalised, she claimed, adding that the mob attempted to take away three air conditioners but failed.

Seven gas cylinders were also taken away by the mob, she claimed.

Documents of internally displaced people were also destroyed during the attack, Sanayai said.

The mob also pushed internally displaced people and one of the volunteers there was injured after being beaten up, she claimed.

Houses of several legislators in Manipur were vandalised as violence escalated last week after three women and three children belonging to the Meitei community had gone missing from a relief camp in Jiribam district following a gunfight between security forces and suspected Kuki-Zo militants that resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents on November 11.

Bodies of those six were later found over the past few days.

More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.