New Delhi: A Kuki woman was killed and two men from the community were injured when suspected Kuki and Naga militants engaged in a gunfight in Manipur on Thursday, officials said.
A senior police officer told ThePrint that the gunfight took place around 11am in an area near Taphou Kuki village in Kangpokpi district and Kailengjang in neighbouring Senapati district.
Those killed and injured were working in a nearby paddy field that is under CRPF protection. The officer said CRPF personnel also retaliated against the suspected militants.
The deceased has been identified as Kimneineng Chongloi (40), a resident of Taphou Kuki village. The injured, also residents of the same village, have been identified as Sehngam (34) and Lamkhochon Chongloi (46). Sehngam sustained bullet injuries to his left ear and was referred to Imphal, the state capital, while Chongloi, who sustained an injury around his left thigh, was referred to Mission Hospital, Kangpokpi, from District Hospital, Kangpokpi.
A few hours later, at around 3pm, suspected Kuki miscreants opened fire on Naga farmers working in a paddy field in Sinakeithei village in Ukhrul district, which borders both Senapati and Kangpokpi districts, injuring a man, the senior police officer quoted above said.
The incidents took place amid protests by the Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), which had called for a “total shutdown” in the district following the recent abduction and killing of two Kuki-Zo civilians from Taphou Kuki village.
The organisation announced last Friday that it was suspending the shutdown for seven days to give the state government time to address its demands.
Following the killing of the Kuki woman, COTU said in a statement that “this latest bloodshed further exposes the grave consequences of the Governments’ continued indifference and selective response to the security concerns of the Kuki-Zo people.”
“What is more baffling is that the armed Naga militants launched the attack in the presence of security cover from a combined contingent of CRPF personnel from 142 Battalion, 152 Battalion and 112 Battalion without hesitation,” it added.
COTU said that as the seven-day window they issued comes to an end, “we will be compelled to review our decision and determine our subsequent course of action in the absence of tangible and satisfactory action.”
“Lastly, let there be no ambiguity: the Governments have been repeatedly warned, our demands have been clearly communicated, and the consequences of selective response have now become painfully evident. Any further course of action arising from the Governments’ failure to address the situation must be understood in this context. The Governments shall bear full responsibility for the consequences of their continued failure to ensure civilian security and deliver justice,” COTU’s statement said.
ThePrint has reached out to Naga groups for a response regarding the two incidents. This report will be updated when the groups responds.
(Edited by Chingkheinganbi Mayengbam)
Tribals for a reason.
Usually they gang up together to inflict merciless violence on non-tribal population. Now they are fighting with each other.