IMPHAL: A gunfight broke out between two armed groups around 3 am on Tuesday in the same area in Manipur’s Churachandpur district where an ambush took place on Monday, killing four individuals, officials said.
The Churachandpur district police said that no fresh casualties have been reported in Tuesday’s gunfight, and the identities of the armed groups involved in it remain unverified.
According to officials familiar with the matter, the shootout occurred near K. Mongjang, the same area where Monday’s ambush, allegedly carried out by the United Kuki National Army (UKNA) against the Kuki National Army (KNA), had taken place.
Those killed in Monday’s ambush were identified as Phalhing (72), a woman from Koite village who was caught in the crossfire; Thenkhothang alias Thahpi (48) of Matejang; Seikhogin (35) of Teiseng; and Lengouhao (35) of Chengkon. Among them, Thahpi, also known as Thangboi Haokip, was allegedly the deputy commander-in-chief of the Kuki National Organisation/Kuki National Army (KNO/KNA), a prominent Kuki militant outfit.
A first information report (FIR) was registered at the Churachandpur police station after the incident and a search operation was launched. However, no arrests have been made so far, according to police.
{{/usCountry}}A first information report (FIR) was registered at the Churachandpur police station after the incident and a search operation was launched. However, no arrests have been made so far, according to police.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, a video clip circulating on social media shows a group of youngsters cleaning a Hyundai Creta (bearing registration number MN01AG 9187) — the vehicle ambushed in Monday’s attack — at a local car wash. Police later confirmed that volunteers of a youth organisation, Kuki Khanglai Lawmpi (KKL), undertook the task of washing human remains from the vehicle with police consent. The car is currently in police custody.
Police further confirmed that the bodies of the deceased are still at the Churachandpur district hospital morgue, and no fresh violence related to the incident has been reported.
In a related development, a Facebook user named Hefa Ph claimed the registration number MN01AG 9187 belongs to his family’s vehicle and had been misused by the attackers. In a video statement, Hefa clarified that the vehicle is registered under his father’s name, Md Tamijuddin, and has been undergoing repairs at an automobile workshop since September 11 last year.
“I urge the authorities concerned to investigate how the registration number was duplicated and used by miscreants in Churachandpur,” he said.