Manipur: Mob storms IRB camp to loot weapons, sets fire to a house; one dies

An irate mob torched the house of an Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel in Manipur’s Thoubal district, police said on Wednesday (July 5).

Violence continues to grip the state even though Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced on Monday (July 3) that schools in the state for Classes 1 to 8 would resume operations from July 5.

The latest incident of violence took place at Samaram on Tuesday night (July 4) after a 27-year-old man, identified as Ronaldo, was killed in a clash when a 700-800-strong mob tried to storm the camp of the 3rd IRB at Wangbal, 4 km away, to loot firearms.

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The forces tried to bring the situation under control and used teargas shells and rubber bullets at first. But as the armed mob opened fire, the forces shot back, officials said.

Mob blocked roads leading to camp

The mob also blocked the roads leading to the camp at multiple locations to prevent reinforcements from reaching there, but the forces moved through, they said.

The mob attacked a team of the Assam Rifles that was on the way to the camp. They fired on the Assam Rifles personnel, in which a jawan was injured, and torched their vehicle, officials said.

The jawan was shot in the leg, they said.

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In the clashes, a man, identified as Ronaldo, was shot. He was first taken to the Thoubal district hospital, but later referred to a hospital in Imphal as his condition was critical. He died on the way to the state capital, officials said.

Ten others were also injured in the clashes and six of them with serious injuries were admitted to a hospital in Imphal, they said.

(With inputs from agencies)