IMPHAL, May 7: Speaking to the media at the Manipur Press Club, H Tombi President of the Saijang Youth Progressive club said that May 3 incident was a fall out of an ongoing land dispute with Silent Khul. “We had earlier appealed to Chief of Silent Khul not to allow encroachment in the disputed area but some households were allowed to settle in after money exchanged hands,” he claimed.
H Tombi also expressed his dismay and regret over the statement of certain civil organizations into the Silent Khul issue. He further added that the boundary of Seijang village as defined and recorded in the Manipur State Darbar records of 1932 is: the Naibe River on the North, Soijin Sinpham Lok on the south, Nongmangkha Lok on the East and the Valley on the west. In 1962, the then Chief Maipilen of Silent village handed over the village to the Kuki King Ngamkhulun after which, the chiefs of the two villages along with representatives from other neighboring villages agreed not to encroach on each other’s lands.