Two killed, JCO among three injured in Manipur district
A Manipur Police statement on Tuesday evening confirmed that a junior commissioned officer of the army was injured in the firing
At least two people died while three others, including a junior commissioned officer(JCO) of the army, were injured in day-long firing that broke out along the Imphal East- Kangpokpi buffer zone area in Manipur on Tuesday, said people aware of the matter.
Until late Tuesday evening, intermittent firing was reported from the areas along the Khamenlok ridge, Saikul and Satang , confirmed personnel from security forces and residents of Saikul division.
The buffer zone around Kangpokpi-Imphal East has witnessed multiple bursts of firing since Saturday. Two bodies found over the weekend by Manipur Police are also suspected to be casualties of firing in the area.
An officer aware of Tuesday’s incident said that around 11.30 am, fresh firing broke out in parts along Khamenlok and Saikul between Meitei and Kuki groups, prompting soldiers from the Assam Rifles and Indian Army to move towards the area.
“We have reports of one dead and three injured. The body of one person, Sagolsem Loha, has been sent to Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Science, mortuary. There are reports of another person dead in the firing, but we are yet to receive a confirmation,” said a police officer aware of the matter, requesting anonymity.
Late Tuesday night, Saikul residents and Kuki Student Organisation(KSO) said that a second person named Demkhogin Khongsai, was also killed in the gunfight in the evening. “Khongsai was a village volunteer. His house in Kangpokpi was burnt and he had joined the village volunteers last year. There is still firing going on in different parts of Saikul sub division,” said Lenin Haokip, chief of L Chajang village, over the phone on Tuesday night.
A Manipur Police statement on Tuesday evening confirmed that a junior commissioned officer of the army was injured in the firing. Manipur police did not comment on the two deaths.
Police said that around 11.30 am, firing between armed groups was reported in the Khamenlok ridge in Imphal East district along Saibol heights, Gwaltabi and Semol.
“On receipt of information, security forces moved in a coordinated manner to control the situation. At approximately 12. 50 pm, a junior commissioned officer of the Indian Army, who was part of the column, sustained gunshot wound in his right calf. The JCO has been evacuated by helicopter to military hospital in Leimakhong Military Station and his condition is reported as stable. Security forces are currently dominating the area to control the situation,” the statement said.
Officials in the security forces, who asked not to be named, said that until late Tuesday night, there was intermittent firing reported in the upper ridges of the buffer zone between Khamenlok and Imphal East.
Buffer zones are areas between valley districts where Meiteis live and hill districts where Kuki and other tribals live. Security forces sent by Centre are posted in buffer zones to ensure that armed civilians and militants do not enter each other’s territory and indulge in violence.
Kangpokpi’s civil society group – the Committee on Tribal Unity(COTU) - said that militants entered the Satang area by crossing the buffer zone in the early hours of Tuesday. “The attack started in the wee hours and lasted till dusk today,” a statement by the group said.
Manipur has been in the throes of ethnic violence between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kukis since May 3 last year. Over the past nine months, at least 210 people have lost their lives, and over 50,000 people have been displaced. In the last few months, militant groups from both the warring communities have joined the conflict, targeting police and security forces. According to officials on ground, extortion cases have become rampant as criminals and militant groups still are in the possession of thousands of arms looted from police armouries towards the beginning of the ethnic violence in May-June last year.
