Imphal: Six persons were arrested Wednesday in connection with the loot of arms from the 5th India Reserve Battalion post in Chingarel Tezpur in Manipur’s Imphal East district the previous day.
On Tuesday night, a mob stormed the 5th IRB post and looted arms and ammunition, demanding a handover of firearms. Four INSAS rifles, one AK-47 rifle, SLR magazines, and 16 small boxes of 9mm ammunition that the mob had likely looted were recovered from the arrested persons, Manipur Police said on X.
It added, “…they (the six arrested) have been remanded into police custody by (the) judicial magistrate.”
Two other incidents of violence Tuesday night left two dead and several injured. A 25-year-old village volunteer died in clashes with suspected militants while another died when security forces fired at a mob that stormed a police training centre in Imphal East district. Others, including a junior commissioned officer (JCO) in the Army, sustained injuries.
Around the time of the loot at the 5th IRB post, another mob forced their way into the Manipur Police Training Centre (MPTC) at Pangei in Imphal East. At 9.30 pm Tuesday, security forces opened fire on the mob. Okram Santosh from Pangei died while Tongbram Rex from Sagolband in Imphal West district and Khomdram Robarth from Heingang in Imphal East district sustained injuries in the violence. The injured are currently recuperating at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, JNIMS, Imphal.
As the violence escalates, reports indicate that similar incidents have occurred in other areas, including a recent attack where armed miscreants targeted a Muslim community in Thoubal, resulting in multiple casualties and injuries.
In another incident, Kuki and Meitei village volunteers clashed in the Khamenlok and Pukhao Shantipur area of Imphal East district Tuesday morning, leaving one Meitei volunteer dead and four others injured. The Khamenlok and Pukhao Shantipur area, which shares the district boundary with Kangpokpi, has witnessed several incidents of gunfight since clashes first broke out in Manipur last May.
Injured in the clash Tuesday, 25-year-old Sagolsem Loya, a Meitei village volunteer from Pukhao Santipur under Khundrakpam AC in Imphal East district, died on his way to the hospital. Four other Meitei village volunteers injured in the clash are currently recuperating at Raj Medicity in Imphal. They are M. Naocha from Heirok Part 1 in Thoubal district, Laishram Ihuntappa of Langthabal Kunja from Imphal West district and Sinam Shyam of Achanbigei Makha Leikai in Imphal East district, Haobam Jayenta from Heingang Awang Thongkhong and Huidrom Maimusana from Yumnam Patlou in Imphal East district.
A Manipur police department press release on the incident said at approximately 11.30 am Tuesday, armed miscreants started firing in the general area of Khamenlok ridge in Imphal East along Saibol Heights, Gwaltabi, and Semol. After receiving information, security forces moved into the area to bring the situation under control. At 12.50 pm, a JCO, who was part of the column of security forces, sustained a gunshot wound in his right calf. The military evacuated the JCO by helicopter to the hospital at Leimakhong Military Station. His condition is reportedly stable. Security forces are currently in the area, keeping a watch.
A fierce gun battle is currently on at Sugnu between Kuki and Meitei groups, but there was no official confirmation of any casualties till the filling of this report.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)