Two dead in separate clashes as violence continues in Manipur

These are first deaths in the state in more than 10 days, after three village guards were killed by armed miscreants in Thawai Kuki villag on August 18.

Two men were killed and six were injured in separate incidents in Manipur on Tuesday, shattering the brief lull in violence in the northeastern state where 157 people have died and another 50,000 displaced over nearly four months.

At least 152 people have been killed and nearly 50,000 displaced in Manipur since May 3 (File photo)

These are the first deaths in the state in more than 10 days, after three village guards were killed by armed miscreants in Thawai Kuki village in Ukhrul on August 18.

Police said that a gunfight erupted between security forces and armed men in a forested area near the district border of Bishnupur and Churachandpur.

A police officer aware of the details said 30-year-old Jangminlun Gangte died in Naranseina village in Bishnupur after a pompi gun (country made gun) he was carrying accidentally exploded.

The Indigenous Tribal Leader Forum (ITLF), an umbrella body of tribal groups, disputed this, saying Gangte was a village volunteer and was killed by Manipur Police commandos.

But the police officer cited above dismissed the allegation.

“The pompi gun Gangte was using misfired, exploded in his hand, and he died on the spot,” the officer said, seeking anonymity.

The second victim, Laibungjam Inao (27), was shot dead by unidentified armed men from a distance in an area close to Naranseina village. “The second victim was shot dead by armed miscreants from a distance when he was climbing the hills,” the officer cited above said.

In Naranseina, unidentified miscreants first opened fire at villagers around 6.30am, police said. While a 26-year-old farmer, Salam Jotin Singh, was injured in the firing, another villager, who was with him, escaped unhurt. Singh was admitted to Raj Medicity hospital in Imphal and is now in a stable condition, police said.

“My husband had stepped out to spray fertilisers in our paddy field and was returning home when some people, who were hiding in the jungle near Khoirentak hill side (on Bishnupur-Churachandpur border), started firing. My husband said he heard 15-20 gunshots. One of the bullets hit him. He was rescued by his friend, who in-turn raised an alarm and alerted villagers,” Singh’s wife, Priya, said. “Doctors told me my husband survived because the bullet did not hit any of his vital organs,” she added.

A second police officer said a 40-year-old man, later identified as Tangtin Len, was caught with two guns and ammunition as security forces launched a search operation in the area.

“Our forces are still engaged in intermittent firing in the jungle area in Khoirentak. Len was handed over to the police,” the officer said late on Tuesday evening.