Aizawl, Mar 30 : The Mizoram government on Sunday vowed to retaliate against
Saturday’s militant ambush on an MLAs’ convoy that left three policemen
dead and six others, including two civilians, injured.
“It was an act of grave offense, and [the militants] have challenged
the state government. We accept that challenge,” Chief Minister Lal
Thanhawla said at a funeral held for the three slain policemen held at
the Mizoram Armed Police First Battalion headquarters in Aizawl at 8 am.
The CM termed the attack “an act of deceit” and added “the militants have been approaching our Home Minister and other leaders that they want to have peace talks. They even said they were willing to climb down from some of their demands. If our blood relations, our ethnic kin, would give up living as criminals and come into the fold, we were looking for ways to initiate the process.”
He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 7 lakhs for the families of the deceased, and promised one relative or family member each of the deceased men would be absorbed into the police force.
Mourners pray for the slain policemen during the ceremony of mourning
organised by the YMA, a community-based organisation, soon after the
convoy’s arrival before dawn on Sunday.
The government has blamed the Hmar People’s Convention Democrats
(HPCD) for the ambush. The group broke away from the
militant-force-turned-political party Hmar People’s Convention and
demands an autonomous tribal district for the Hmar tribe of northern
Mizoram. Police say their main bases are in southern Manipur.
Home Minister R Lalzirliana said, “We will not allow our land to be divided by people whose minds have become handicapped, and I am confident our police force will not hesitate to go beyond the call of duty to clean up those who have done this to our colleagues.”
Policemen during the funeral service held for their slain colleagues in Aizawl.
Mizoram DGP Dharmendra Kumar said, “We of the Mizoram police pledge
today that these three brave sons of Mizoram have not laid down their
lives in vain. We have put in place an action plan and we take a vow
that we will not leave any stone unturned to bring the culprits to
justice.”
The bodies of the slain policemen, accompanied by colleagues and the MLAs’ convoy that included three legislators and several officials, reached state capital Aizawl shortly after 2 am on Sunday morning.
Thousands of men and women waited through the night for their arrival at the Aizawl Municial Council’s office premises at Thuampui as the Young Mizo Association, Mizoram’s largest community-based organisation with members in virtually every household, held a ceremony of mourning for the deceased.
YMA leaders called upon those in the crowd to remember that “there should be no ethnic or communal tension or attacks but rather to maintain the unity of ethnic Zos” while passing a resolution demanding the government bring those responsible for the ambush be brought to justice.
The convoy transporting the bodies from Sakawrdai, the biggest urban centre near where the ambush took place, was greeted by villagers draped in traditional mourning shawls in at least a dozen hamlets, villages and small towns along the way.
The CM termed the attack “an act of deceit” and added “the militants have been approaching our Home Minister and other leaders that they want to have peace talks. They even said they were willing to climb down from some of their demands. If our blood relations, our ethnic kin, would give up living as criminals and come into the fold, we were looking for ways to initiate the process.”
He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 7 lakhs for the families of the deceased, and promised one relative or family member each of the deceased men would be absorbed into the police force.
Mourners pray for the slain policemen during the ceremony of mourning
organised by the YMA, a community-based organisation, soon after the
convoy’s arrival before dawn on Sunday.
The government has blamed the Hmar People’s Convention Democrats
(HPCD) for the ambush. The group broke away from the
militant-force-turned-political party Hmar People’s Convention and
demands an autonomous tribal district for the Hmar tribe of northern
Mizoram. Police say their main bases are in southern Manipur.Home Minister R Lalzirliana said, “We will not allow our land to be divided by people whose minds have become handicapped, and I am confident our police force will not hesitate to go beyond the call of duty to clean up those who have done this to our colleagues.”
Policemen during the funeral service held for their slain colleagues in Aizawl.
Mizoram DGP Dharmendra Kumar said, “We of the Mizoram police pledge
today that these three brave sons of Mizoram have not laid down their
lives in vain. We have put in place an action plan and we take a vow
that we will not leave any stone unturned to bring the culprits to
justice.”The bodies of the slain policemen, accompanied by colleagues and the MLAs’ convoy that included three legislators and several officials, reached state capital Aizawl shortly after 2 am on Sunday morning.
Thousands of men and women waited through the night for their arrival at the Aizawl Municial Council’s office premises at Thuampui as the Young Mizo Association, Mizoram’s largest community-based organisation with members in virtually every household, held a ceremony of mourning for the deceased.
YMA leaders called upon those in the crowd to remember that “there should be no ethnic or communal tension or attacks but rather to maintain the unity of ethnic Zos” while passing a resolution demanding the government bring those responsible for the ambush be brought to justice.
The convoy transporting the bodies from Sakawrdai, the biggest urban centre near where the ambush took place, was greeted by villagers draped in traditional mourning shawls in at least a dozen hamlets, villages and small towns along the way.
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