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Two migrants, one militant killed in separate incidents in Manipur
Three killed in Manipur: two migrant workers shot in Kakching, and a militant killed by police in Thoubal amid ongoing ethnic tensions.
Three people were killed in Manipur’s valley districts on Saturday in two separate incidents, including two migrant workers from Bihar, and an alleged militant worker who was shot during a police encounter.
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Two teenage construction workers from Bihar were shot dead by unidentified assailants in Kakching district on Saturday evening. The victims, identified as Sunalal Kumar, 18, and Dasharat Kumar, 17, from Rajwahi village in Bihar’s Gopalganj district, were residing in Meitei-dominated Kakching when they were attacked near the panchayat office on Kakching-Wabagai Road at approximately 5:20 pm.
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The motive for the attack on the migrants was not known and was unlikely to be fuelled by the ethnic strife between Meiteis and Kukis in the state, a conflict that has left the region significantly paralysed.
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Earlier on Saturday, Manipur Police commandos killed a suspected militant and arrested six others during an exchange of gunfire at Salungpham Maning Leikai in Thoubal district. The deceased, identified as 16-year-old Laishram Priyam alias Loktak, was reportedly a member of the proscribed PREPAK outfit.
Acting on intelligence about armed elements in the area, police conducted a combing operation near Salungpham High School around 9:30 am. During the ensuing firefight, Priyam sustained a bullet wound to his right abdomen and later succumbed to his injuries at Raj Medicity Hospital in Imphal, officials said.
The operation led to significant arms seizures, including three INSAS rifles, one SLR rifle, one .303 rifle, and one AMOGH rifle, along with multiple magazines and ammunition. Police also seized a four-wheeler.
Speaking at the JNIMS morgue, the deceased militant’s mother, Laishram Geetamala, revealed that her son had left home three months ago “to defend the villages from sporadic attacks by Kuki militants.” She added that he was preparing for his High School Leaving Certificate examination.
“End this ongoing crisis,” she appealed to state and central governments. “If the violence is not stopped, many families will face the same pain I am experiencing today.”
The six arrested PREPAK cadres have been identified as Thokchom Momocha, 41; Sarangthem Anand Singh, 36; Ningthoujam Karna Singh, 27; Ningthoujam Manoranjan, 21; Thongam Phalguni, 27; and Moirangthem Johnson, 21.
Senior PREPAK militants have been increasingly active in the valley districts.
