E-Paper
Manipur violence: Five more, including father and son, killed as clashes continue
The deaths come in a tumultuous week for a state that has been gripped by ethnic violence since May 3, with over 160 people confirmed dead
Five people were killed in Manipur on Saturday as the region convulsed with fresh waves of violence, according to officials who said that gunfights and cases of arson continued till late in the night.
Also Read| Manipur violence state sponsored: BRS’s Kavitha hits out at Centre
Three men of the Meitei community were shot dead inside their homes in Manipur’s Kwakta area and the unidentified attackers mutilated the bodies before fleeing. Hours later, two men from the tribal Kuki community were killed in Churachandpur district, although it was not immediately clear if these deaths were connected to the early morning incident.
The deaths come in a tumultuous week for a state that has been gripped by ethnic violence since May 3, with over 160 people confirmed dead. Late on Thursday, a Manipur rifles soldier was killed while an armoury in Bishnupur looted of hundreds of guns and rifles and tens of thousands of rounds of ammo.
Also Read| Manipur cabinet requests governor to hold assembly session on Aug 21
The spurt traces back to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum’s announcement for a mass burial of 35 victims of the ethnic violence on Thursday, before it was hurriedly called off following hectic parleys by authorities and a court order.
Meiteis opposed the burial plan, and several groups began converging at the proposed burial site, triggering widespread clashes since Thursday.
Assam Rifles soldiers, Manipur police argument
In what further underscored the complicated nature of the crisis, a video emerged on Saturday showing an argument between Assam Rifles soldiers and Manipur police, with the latter accusing the Indian Army-controlled soldiers of not allowing them to do their job.
A defence officer aware of the matter, said that Assam Rifles men were following order. “Vehicles were parked on the road so that there is no violation of the buffer zone deployment set in place by the Combined Headquarters. As per protocol, job of central forces is to ensure strict implementation of buffer zone and prevent movement of members of either community towards each other for peace and stability.”
HT contacted Manipur Police and Spears Corps of Indian Army for a response but despite repeated requests there was no response.
A second official, who asked not to be named, aware of the details said the first attack took place in the abandoned village of Kwakta, set up as a buffer zone. The dead were identified as Yumnam Pishak Meitei (67), his son Yumnam Premkumar Meitei (39) and their neighbour Yumnam Jiten Meitei (46) — all residents of Kwakta Lamkhai ward 8 in Bishnupur. Prem Kumar was also a village defence volunteer, a term used for villagers that have taken to protecting their villagers, often with arms, while his father and neighbour were farmers.
Asha Devi, the wife of Prem Kumar, told reporters that her husband had thought it was safe to return home. “I want the government to step in and ensure this killing stops. During my last call with my husband, he had said that he was worried about his life but nevertheless decided to stay the night,” she said.
Hemam Singh said that locals gathered when they heard gun shots and chased the armed attackers, a chase during which a woman and a police commando were shot. Both are in a hospital being treated.
Senior police officials said that security forces reached the area after which they too were locked in an intermittent gunbattle with miscreants on the Churachandpur-Bishnupur border, which continued till late on Saturday night.
In Churchandpur, senior police officials said two men — identified as Johny Guiye (40) and Jangkhomang Haokip (40) — were killed, although no details were available over the circumstances of their death. The two men were also village defence volunteers.
“There is intermittent firing by security forces and miscreants in the border area of Churachandpur and Bishnupur today. It is unclear anyone came from the valley to Pholjang to avenge the murders of the three men. The two murders at Pholjang happened at around 5-6 in the morning,” said an official aware of the matter.
The Indian Army announced late on Saturday that it had apprehended a member of a Kuki militant group (Kuki Independent Army) in one of the gunfights in the Mongcham area.
“During one such search operation, Indian Army column drew effective fire from armed insurgents from general area Mongcham at approximately 5.30pm today. Own troops retaliated in a calibrated manner and in the ensuing firefight, one armed insurgent of KIA sustained gunshot wounds and has been apprehended while others managed to escape. One self-loading rifle, ammunition and war-like stores [of material] recovered. Operation in progress and further details will follow,” the Army said in a tweet.
The Manipur police control room said it had received several reports of mobs burning houses in different part of the states such as in Torbung, Ukhatampak, Langol and New Checkon.
Following the Kwakta incident, BJP MLA RK Imo said they have submitted a memorandum to the Union home minister about the security lapse that led to the murders despite the presence of multiple security forces. “All forces were on duty. How can people from a different district enter another place and kill three men? Strict action must be taken against the forces posted there. How on earth could there be such a security lapse? Some forces are helping armed miscreants. We have written this in the letter to the home minister,” he said.
