Imphal: Several betel leaves imported from Assam to Manipur via Mizoram were seized by male village volunteers and set on fire by Meira Paibis (women’s vigilante groups) at Moirang Lamkhai in Bishnupur district on Saturday night.
The 10 baskets of betel leaves were allegedly being transported by an alleged smuggler, Mohammad Abdul Khalip, 34, from Silchar, Assam, via Aizawl, Mizoram.
The betel leaves were to be transported to Imphal via Aizawl, Churachandpur and Kwakta villages on Saturday.
After Khalip, a resident of Kwakta village in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, received a tip-off, village volunteers intercepted the transport vehicle and seized the imported items.
They then handed them over to the Meira Paibis of Bishnupur district, who set fire to the betel leaves at around 11 pm on Saturday in the presence of media personnel.
Geeta Devi, the leader of Meira Paibis, appealed to people, especially Muslims (Manipuri) and Kukis, not to indulge in the transportation of such items in the backdrop of ongoing communal violence in the state.
In Manipur and some migratory beetle leaves are widely eaten. They are eaten in paan or as betel quid in paan.
The betel plant is an evergreen perennial with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white cuticles. The demand for betel leaf in Manipur is very high.
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