Manipur, Feb. 23 -- Some Kuki chiefs even had the audacity to claim whole hill ranges, including the sacred Mt Koubru and Mt Thangjing as their territory. Kuki chiefs backed by militants also began obstructing afforestation drives taken up by the Forests department. Then as the state government began its eviction drive in forest areas, trouble began. In February 2023, the state government notified and carried out the eviction drive, deploying hundreds of police personnel and paramilitary forces to evict around 12 families at KSongjang, a village recently set up within the Churachandpur-Khoupum protected forest stretch.

According to Forest department, K Songjang village is a new settlement established in 2021, much after the notification ...