Imphal: Hundreds of people on Monday paid floral tributes at a memorial for underground militants who were killed 33 years ago.

The Manipur High Court had ruled in favor such observation after it received appeals from some relatives of the deceased members of Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), a banned underground outfit.

The memorial is situated at the Imphal West district.

People have been observing the Martyrs’ Day on April 13, the day nine RPF cadres were killed in a gunfight at Kodompokpi village under Nambol police station 33 years ago.

The family members has sought permission to pay floral tributes as in the previous years and prayed that no restrictions be imposed.

The RPF expressed gratitude to people and various groups for honoring the “martyrs” at the Cheiraoching memorial site and other tombs located at different places.

A press release issued by the outfit’s Publicity Secretary Roben Khuman also thanked journalists, transporters, medical personnel, residents of Cheiraoching and volunteers of children’s recreation centre for the smooth observation of the martyrs’ day.

The outfit also appreciated Manipur police for not posing much hurdles in observing the martyrs’ day.

The martyrs’ day was also observed at the RPF’s general headquarters, council headquarters and several other places.

“Our people must acknowledge the supreme sacrifices made by the freedom fighters and we must follow their footsteps,” the press release said.

The RPF is an offshoot of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), founded in 1978 to fight for a separate independent socialist state of Manipur. It was the first organization from Manipur to have been trained by the China’s People’s Liberation Army at Lhasa in the 1980s, according to Wikipedia.

Since its founding, it has been waging guerrilla-based war against the Indian Armed Forces and has targeted the Indian Army, Indian Paramilitary Forces and the State Police Force. However during the late 1990s, it declared a unilateral decision not to target the Manipur Police.

The death of some top leaders in combat such as President Thoudam Kunjabehari in 1982, and the arrest of founder N. Bisheshwar Singh a year earlier decreased its military activity 1980s. RPF was formed in 1989 as a political wing that formed a government in exile in Bangladesh and revived the outfit.

The organization had some 3,800 members in 2008.