Four men were killed and five others sustained critical bullet injuries in Manipur’s Thoubal district on Monday evening, officials said, prompting the state government to tighten curfew in the restive state where nearly 200 people lost their lives in ethnic violence last year.
Senior police officials confirmed the killings in Thoubal’s Lilong area, but said they were yet to reach the spot at the time of filing this report. Local residents of Lilong also confirmed the firing and shared photos of the dead victims on the ground.
“One of the injured is reportedly critical. We received information that some of the attackers have been caught by locals but it is yet to be verified. Police are yet to reach the village because protesters have gathered there,” said one official, requesting anonymity,
Lilong is around 12km from state capital Imphal.
The killings prompted the state government to intensify the night curfew in Manipur. Officials said top government officials will review and take a call on curfew measures during the day starting Tuesday.
A second government official said that around 6pm, a group of militants went to Lilong Chingao area for a suspected extortion bid. “The information we have is that people gathered to protest the extortion bid. During this, the militants fired, which led to at least eight people sustaining bullet injuries. Four of them have died. But police are yet to reach the spot because of protests and crowds there,” said the second official, who requested anonymity.
Officials said villagers burnt the vehicles of the militants. “In four different Maruti gypsies, around 20-25 militants had come to Hasan, a local resident’s house. They were wearing military clothes. They scaled the wall of Hasan’s house and started demanding money. When the families raised an alarm, locals gathered. The militants fired a shot that hit Hasan’s brother. The locals were angry and more people gathered. That is when the militants fired at the crowd,” said Mohammed Habibullah, a resident.
In a video message, chief minister N Biren Singh condemned the violence, and appealed to the people, particularly the residents of Lilong, to maintain peace.
“Police are working to arrest those behind the attack. They will be arrested soon and punished as per the law,” he said.
The area is inhabited by Meitei Pangals, Muslims from the dominant community who have yet not been involved in the ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki groups that started on May 3. Unlike Meiteis who are unable to cross the valley districts (Meiteis live in the Imphal valley) and Kukis who do not enter valley districts and confine themselves in the hills, Meitei Pangals have yet not been attacked by any group and often help people in travelling through the volatile state.
“We have been at the receiving end of the clashes. Militants come to our places and extort money,” said Arif, a Pangal driver in Imphal.
The killings come just two days after militants attacked Manipur police commandos inside their barracks, during which rocket propelled grenades (RPG) were fired. Militants and security forces exchanged fire on Sunday evening near the border town of Moreh, in what was a fresh escalation of ethnic violence.
A nearly one-month long lull in ethnic strife was ruptured last Saturday when a gunfight broke out between Meitei and Kuki village volunteers, in which one person died. Before Saturday, 13 people were killed in a gunfight on December 4 in Tengnoupal district.
Manipur has been in the throes of ethnic violence since early May as clashes erupted between the Meiteis, the most populous community in the state, and the tribal Kukis.
While a bulk of the violence took place in the days after May 3, attacks between communities have continued intermittently ever since.