5 killed in fresh violence in Manipur's Jiribam, 3 bunkers of militants destroyed

Five people were killed in fresh violence in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday, police said.

According to police, militants entered the house of a person who lived alone at an isolated location around 5 km from the district headquarters and shot him dead in his sleep.

After the killing, a heavy exchange of fire took place between people of the warring communities in the hills around 7 km from the district headquarters, leading to the deaths of four armed men, including three hills-based militants, police added.

In the evening, Chief Minister N Biren Singh held an emergency meeting with MLAs from the ruling coalition, comprising the BJP, Naga People’s Front, and National Peoples Party (NPP), to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the state, official sources said.

Soon after that, Singh rushed to the Raj Bhavan and met Governor L. Acharya and briefed him on the situation, the sources added.

On Friday, security forces destroyed three bunkers of militants in Churachandpur district after insurgents launched rocket attacks in adjoining Bishnupur that killed one person and injured six others.

Earlier this week, fresh arson took place in Jiribam district after suspected ‘village volunteers’ burnt down an abandoned three-room house of a retired police officer at Jakuradhor in Borobekra police station area.

Tribal body Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee (Pherzawl and Jiribam) denied any involvement in the incident.

The district witnessed fresh violence despite representatives of the Meitei and Hmar communities reaching an agreement to restore normalcy and “prevent incidents of arson and firing” in a meeting held at a CRPF facility in adjoining Assam’s Cachar on August 1.

In the meeting moderated by the Jiribam district administration, Assam Rifles and CRPF personnel, and representatives of Hmar, Meitei, Thadou, Paite and Mizo communities of Jiribam district were also present.

The agreement was, however, denounced by several Hmar tribal bodies based outside Jiribam district saying they did not have any knowledge about it.

Meanwhile, security forces conducted operations in Mualsang and Laika Mualsau villages in Churachandpur district on Friday and destroyed three bunkers of militants.

“Militants deployed long-range rockets among the civilian population in two locations of Bishnupur district in one of which a senior citizen died and six others were injured,” a police statement said.

Police teams and additional security forces conducted a combing operation in the adjoining hill ranges.

“Two bunkers at Mualsang village and one bunker at Laika Mualsau village of Churachandpur were destroyed,” it said.

Police teams including the Bishnupur SP rushed to the area and were fired upon by suspected militants but the law enforcers retaliated and repelled the attack.

A military helicopter has been deployed to conduct aerial patrolling, it added.

High-level security meetings have been held to take stock of the law and order situation, it said.

Authorities are closely monitoring the situation, and police are prepared to respond to any contingency that may arise, the statement added.

People in peripheral areas of Bishnupur and Imphal East districts turned off their lights on Friday night following sightings of multiple drones, officials said.

Multiple drones were sighted at Narainsena and Nambol Kamong in Bishnupur district and Pukhao, Dolaithabi and Shantipur in Imphal East district creating panic among residents, they added.

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

Ethnically-diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by ethnic violence in Imphal Valley and adjoining hills, erupted in violence after a 59-year-old man belonging to one community was killed allegedly by militants of another community in June.

Thousands had to leave their homes and relocate to relief camps due to incidents of arson by both sides. A CRPF jawan was also killed in an ambush by militants during patrolling by security forces in mid-July.