Armed men open fire at Manipur MLA’s house
According to police officials, the group of armed men opened fire at Singhat (ST) MLA Chinlunthang’s residence at Zou Veng at around 12.50am on Thursday.
A group of unidentified armed men allegedly fired several rounds of bullets at the residence of a Manipur legislator in the state’s Churachandpur district on Thursday, police said, amid the ongoing ethnic turmoil in the northeastern state.
According to police officials, the group of armed men opened fire at Singhat (ST) MLA Chinlunthang’s residence at Zou Veng at around 12.50am on Thursday.
“The group fired several rounds at the MLA’s house and escaped, taking advantage of the darkness,” a police officer said, seeking anonymity.
In 2022, Chinlunthang had contested the assembly elections under the Kuki Peoples Alliance (KPA).
Police said some portions of the wall were found damaged and five empty cases of AK-47 cartridges were recovered from the spot. “Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident. A case has been registered at Churachandpur police station and a probe is underway,” the officer quoted above said.
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There was no immediate reaction from Chinlunthang.
More than 220 people have been killed and over 50,000 displaced in Manipur since the ethnic violence – primarily between the Meiteis and Kukis – erupted on May 3 last year.
In a statement, the Zenhang Lamka Village Authority condemned the attack on the MLA’s house and said such incidents will not be tolerated in the future.
Meanwhile, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), an umbrella group of Kuki organisations, alleged that a leader of a local Kuki body was abducted by a group of unidentified people who broke into the house of ITLF secretary Muan Tombing on Wednesday night.
In his first comments in Parliament on the issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted that instances of violence that have roiled the northeastern state have begun to decline, and that the resumption of schools, offices and establishments in the state is a sign of normalcy being restored, his first comments in Parliament on the issue.
The Supreme Court, on the same day, expressed distrust towards the state and criticised the N Biren Singh government for failing to provide adequate medical care to a Kuki undertrial lodged at a jail in Meitei-dominated Imphal and for the state’s inability to safely transport him.