Manipur: 1 shot dead, 4 killed in gunfight as fresh violence grips Jiribam

Five persons were killed in fresh violence in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday (September 7).

This came after at least three persons were killed in Bishnupur district on Friday as the insurgents launched rocket attacks.

Following that, security forces destroyed three bunkers of militants in Churachandpur district.

Gunfight in hills

On Saturday, one person was shot dead in his sleep while four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire between people of two warring communities in Jiribam district, said the police.

Militants entered the house of the person who lived alone at an isolated location, around 5 km from the district administration headquarters, and shot him dead in his sleep, a police officer told news agency PTI.

After the killing, people of the warring communities engaged in a heavy exchange of fire in the hills, around 7 km from the district headquarters, leading to the deaths of four armed persons, including three hills-based militants, the officer said.

Arson reported earlier

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.

The 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.

Rocket attacks

On Friday night, hours after a 72-year-old man died in a rocket attack, mobs tried to loot weapons from the headquarters of 2 Manipur Rifles and 7 Manipur Rifles in Imphal. Their attempts were thwarted by the security forces.

Suspected militants fired two rockets in Bishnupur district on Friday, killing one person and injuring five others. Officials said the first rocket attack was reported around 4.30 am at Tronglaobi in Bishnupur district. It damaged two structures.

The second rocket fell around 3 pm, on the compound of former chief minister Mairembam Koireng’s residence in the busy Moirang town, killing an elderly man and injuring five others, including a 13-year-old girl.

Police fired upon

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 the police are prepared to respond to any contingency that may arise, the statement added.

Bunkers destroyed

The three bunkers of militants were destroyed by security forces in Mualsang and Laika Mualsau villages of Churachandpur.

“Militants deployed long-range rockets among the civilian population in two locations of Bishnupur district in one of which one senior citizen civilian expired and six other civilians 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.

New high-tech weapons

Before Friday’s rocket attacks, drones were employed to drop bombs on people at two nearby places in Imphal West district earlier this week.

Both were earlier unheard of in the state where ethnic violence has left over 200 people dead and thousands homeless since May last year.

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.

(With agency inputs)