Correspondent
KOHIMA, FEBRUARY 8
SEVERAL persons, including women, were injured while a woman’s hand was broken as hundreds of villagers from Chiechama tried to retaliate against Nerhema villagers for the unwarranted January 20 action of the latter. Both villages fall under Northern Angami region of Kohima district.A source from Chiechama village said hundreds of volunteers from Chiechama village equipped with available arms and weapons were moved to retaliate against the Nerhema village.
The source said the Chiechama people were angered because on January 20 incident when Nerhema people had restricted people from Chiechama to cross Nerhema village.
Nerhema volunteers equipped with arms reportedly stopped the vehicles crossing their village and also did not allow them and people from Chiechama to move ahead on either side.
In retaliation, hundreds of volunteers from Chiechama today set out to attack Nerhema village. The source said the volunteers wanted to vandalize the ADC’s office in Chiephobozou.
They contended that no action against people from Nerhema village on January 20 and also to attack Nerhema village.
However, as they marched on foot alongside armed volunteers who blank fired in the jungles, a group of women led by Chiechama Women Society (CWS) tried to stop them crying and appealing not to take the issue to such an extent.
However, the volunteers did not retreat but moved ahead. In the process of pushing and pulling, the source said, several volunteers and even women were injured while one of the women had to be hospitalised with broken arm.
A sizeable number of police and IRB force were deployed to stop the Chiechama people from reaching Nerhema village. Though there had been several rounds of blank firing by the irate volunteers, police restrained themselves.
Northern Angami Public Organisation (NAPO) also intervened saying peace, unity and understanding should prevail among the two villages. NAPO also asserted to take up the matter and hold a joint meeting of the two villages at the earliest in order to resolve the matter amicably, sources said.
Subsequently, following the interference of the NAPO leaders and Chiechama Women Society at District Institute of Education & Training (DIET) Chiechama, the volunteers decided to stop and give some more days for NAPO to resolve the matter, sources added.
Meanwhile, sources in Nerhema revealed none of their villagers resorted to any offensive attack so as to avoid further aggravation of the situation. Sources also maintained that the village council has constituted a committee to look into the entire issue and resolve the matter peacefully.
It may be mentioned here that the entire incident relates to the brutal assault on a pregnant woman by one Nganuo Kelhoukreinuo Pienyü of Kohima village and her three male accomplices on January 17 at Chiechama village. The subsequent assault and picking up of the three male accomplices from Nerhema village by Chiechama people on January 20 followed by blocking of the National Highway-61 for Chiechama vehicles by Nerhema people the same day.
It is learnt that an FIR and counter FIR were lodged by both the parties. Parleys were also held to resolve the matter peacefully but to no avail. Now, NAPO has been entrusted to resolve the matter amicably between the two villages.
