Manipur: In fresh violence, 3 shot dead in their homes in Bishnupur

In fresh violence in Manipur, three men were allegedly shot dead in their homes in the Kwakta area in Bishnupur district in the early hours of Saturday, officials aware of the matter said. The incident took place in the wee hours around 3am. The armed miscreants also hacked the bodies of the villagers before fleeing the spot, they said.

The deceased have been identified as Yumnam Pishak Meitei (67), his son Yumnam Premkumar Meitei (39) and their neighbour Yumnam Jiten Meitei (46) – all residents of Kwakta Lamhai Ward 8, said the people mentioned above.

The recent incident is a cause of great concern as the attackers were able to breach the buffer zone, between hills and valleys, manned by central security forces, said people.

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The area around Kwakta has been tense in the past few weeks with incidents of firing reported between the tribal and non-tribal groups. The state government has posted police and paramilitary forces in the area to ensure the violence does not escalate.

Following the incident, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA RK Imo, said they have submitted a memorandum to the Union home minister about the security lapse as there were security forces present in the Kwakta area at the time of the incident.

“All forces were on duty. How can people from a different district enter the region and kill three men? Strict action must be taken against the force posted there. How on earth could there be such a security lapse? Some forces are helping the armed miscreants. We have written this in the letter to the home minister,” stated the memorandum.

Over the last four days, a high alert has been sounded across Manipur. Curfew has also been suspended at different places. On Thursday, a large cache of arms – 235 assault rifles, 21 sub-machine guns and 16 pistols – and ammunition – 19,000 rounds of bullets and 124 hand grenades – was looted from an armoury and a Manipur rifles personnel succumbed to his injuries. This was the second time in the last three months that the armoury was looted.

On Thursday, security forces had to fire tear gas shells and bullets in the air in Bishnupur after women groups tried to cross over the buffer zone.

The Union government was forced to intervene after the ITLF (Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum), an umbrella body of different tribal groups, announced they would hold a mass funeral and bury the 35 bodies of those who died in the ethnic clashes at a place in S Boljang village near the Churachandpur-Bishnupur border.

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The proposed mass burial has been postponed for a week after opposition from Meitei groups and also on the orders of the high court, which ordered “status quo ante” at the burial site.

Since May 3, the northeastern state has been gripped by ethnic clashes – primarily between the tribal Kukis, who reside mostly in the hill districts, and the majority Meiteis, the dominant community in Imphal valley – in which at least 150 people have died and over 50,000 have been displaced.

Clashes first broke out on May 3 in Churachandpur town after Kuki groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community.

Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders.