Guwahati: A day after 11 suspected militants were killed in a gunfight, security forces on Tuesday recovered the bodies of two Meitei men from houses in Manipur’s Jiribam district of Manipur.
Police also said that at least six people who were living in a relief camp in the area have been missing since the gunfight on Monday.
The bodies of two men, were identified as Laishram Barel Singh (63) and Maibam Keshwo Singh (71). According to local residents, the two had been staying at a relief camp at Borobekra police station and were among 10 people from the camp to have gone missing since Monday’s shooting.
The Jakuradhor and Borobekra areas in Jiribam district, close to the hills of neighbouring Hmar-majority Pherzawl district, also witnessed a major gunfight between armed men believed to be from the Hmar community and security forces on Monday afternoon. According to police, the gunfight took place after a CRPF post located at Jakuradhor and the nearby Borobekra police station came under fire. Local residents said that the suspected militants had also attacked homes and shops in Meitei settlements in the area earlier in the day. Police on Tuesday confirmed that six people continue to be missing after the violence.
Meanwhile the situation in trouble-torn Manipur was tense but calm as of Tuesday.
A shutdown called by Kuki-Zo Council in protest against alleged killing of 11 militants paralysed the life in Kuki dominated hills of the state. The Kuki-Zo Council claimed that all those killed were village volunteers. However, security forces claimed that militants wearing camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons on Monday, attacked a police station and a nearby CRPF camp in Jiribam's Borobekra area. During the exchange of fire, two CRPF personnel were also injured, one critically.
Police are patrolling vulnerable areas, and the district administration has imposed prohibitory orders to maintain peace and prevent further violence. Authorities have also launched an operation to locate missing persons following the incident.
The militants set fire to several shops and houses around Jakurador Karong market, Borobekra police station, and the adjacent CRPF camp. Security forces retaliated swiftly, and after a 40-45 minute firefight, 11 suspected militants were reported dead. Officials recovered weapons and ammunition from the scene, including AK-47s, SLRs, RPGs, and pump-action guns.
Guwahati: The Manipur police in a social media post confirmed the gunfight and the death of the militants, as well as the injury to CRPF constable Sanjeev Kumar.
The violence, however, prompted clashes across several locations in Imphal Valley, with armed groups from opposing sides exchanging fire in Imphal West and East districts. Reports indicate that militants fired from hilltops in Kangpokpi, while armed "village volunteers" in the valley retaliated. The violence led to injuries in Koutruk, Imphal West, and damages in the form of abandoned houses and structures being set on fire in Kangchup.
Panic prevailed further when an improvised mortar shell landed in a residential area in Lamshang, and other incidents of firing were reported from Chanung and Thamnapokpi areas. These attacks disrupted the ongoing paddy harvesting, as many farmers in the valley were afraid to return to their fields, security sources said.
The Kuki-Zo Council which called a bandh on Tuesday condemned the attacks and called for justice for the victims, many of whom were reportedly Kuki-Zo Village volunteers.
