Guwahati, August 03, 2023: The Centre on Wednesday asked the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) to defer the last rites of 35 people killed in the ethnic clashes in Manipur, saying it will try to resolve the issue within a week.

In a letter, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) appealed to all parties to maintain peace and communal harmony and assured that it will make every effort to find an amicable solution to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.

The ITLF, which represents the Kuki-Zo communities, agreed to delay the burial for five more days after a long discussion on the request of the Home Minister.

However, the tribal body also put forward five demands, including the legalisation of the burial site in S Boljang of Churachandpur district, where they want to lay their dead to rest.

The ITLF also demanded that no Meitei security forces should be deployed in the hill districts, where most of the Kuki-Zo people live, for their safety.

The tribal body further asked that the bodies of the Kuki-Zo victims lying in Imphal should be brought to Churachandpur and that the tribal prisoners in Imphal should be transferred to other states for their security.