2 killed in fresh clash in Manipur, angry locals leave body outside CM's residence

The incident took place after two Meitei men were allegedly killed by Kuki militants amid the ongoing violence in Manipur.

The security personnel posted outside Manipur chief minister Y Khemchand Singh's bungalow in Imphal were taken by surprise when a group of people brought a body and left it outside the gate on Monday. This prompted the security personnel to resort to tear gas shelling.

Image for representation (HT_PRINT)

The incident took place after two Meitei men were allegedly killed by Kuki militants on Monday morning when they were collecting firewood in a forest, news agency PTI reported. The fresh killings triggered protests by locals who placed the bodies outside the chief minister's residence in Imphal.

Four others were also injured as militants allegedly opened fire on a group of firewood collectors at the border of Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts, officials were quoted as saying.

Three persons are reportedly missing in the incident that happened in Khongbal Sunurok Uyok in Kangpokpi, a few metres from Nongshum village in Imphal East.

According to officials, a group 16 people had gone to the hills near their village around 7 am to collect firewood when they were ambushed.

It was not immediately known whether Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh was present at the residence during the protest.

Police fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the protesters, following which the bodies were taken to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS).

As reported by HT earlier, a 36-year-old man was also killed, and four others were injured in a gunfight between armed groups belonging to the Kuki and Naga communities in Chassad, a Kuki village in Kamjong district in Manipur, on Saturday.

“Village head Thangjahou Haokip (48), and four others - Khailun Haokip (57), Seikhohou Haokip (36), Hegin Haokip (48) and Seipao Haokip (55) - were injured in the fresh violence. All the injured were rescued by Assam Rifles personnel and were taken to a hospital run by the paramilitary force in Chassad. Seikhohou succumbed to his injuries,” an officer told HT.