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Three injured as armed men open fire in strife-torn Manipur: Officials
Manipur police did not confirm the status of the three men who were admitted at the two hospitals with bullet injuries.
Three men sustained bullet injuries when armed militants opened fire in Kangpokpi district of Manipur in a fresh bout of violence in the strife-torn state on Thursday, officials aware of the matter said.
According to the officials, armed militants began firing from two adjacent villages – Phaimol and Twichin – at around 3am. The three people, with critical bullet wounds, were taken to Raj Medicity and Little Clinic in Imphal where they are undergoing treatment, officials added.
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Manipur police did not confirm the status of the three men who were admitted at the two hospitals with bullet injuries.
HT spoke to family members of one victim, Shanti Khundrakpam, a resident of Nongpok Sekmai. His nephew, Reenash, said, “One bullet hit him in the chin. The doctors operated on him in the evening. He has survived the incident. Police are yet to tell us how this happened. We are yet to speak to him as the surgery is just over. ”
Later in the day, the militants fired at the village defence volunteers, after which the security forces who were in the buffer zone moved up towards the villages in pursuit, officials added.
“By noon, the militants started firing at the security forces too... when the forces retaliated, they left behind one of their vehicles, from which arms and ammunitions being carried by the militants was recovered,” an official from the Centre’s security forces said on the condition of anonymity.
“The women protesters blocked the additional columns of Assam Rifles at Sabungkhok Khunao area, which is around 2-3km from Phaimol village...,” the official added.
According to Seikholein, a resident of Phaimol village, the situation calmed down in the evening after central forces took charge of the area.
“Our village was burnt by a mob on May 6. There are no villagers residing here. I am a village volunteer. Phaimol village is near the Kangpokpi and Imphal East district border so it is a buffer zone. At around 3 am, militants fired at our village from a brick farm which is near Phaimol. The militants had crossed the buffer zone and attacked our village and the one next to it which is the Twichin village,” Seikholein told HT over the phone.
Phaimol village has around 60 houses while Twichin has around 70 houses. With most residents living in relief camps, the villages are guarded by village defence guards such as Seikholein.
He said that around 8 am, security forces reached the villages and started firing at the militants. “The firing stopped but it again continued from 2.30 pm and lasted till 5.30 am. We have heard that around 12 militants from outside who attacked our village were injured. But we are unable to verify this because we cannot go to Imphal.”
Clashes in Manipur first broke out on May 3 in Churachandpur town after tribal groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community. At least 178 people have died and 50,000 displaced in the violence.
