NEW DELHI: One person was injured in a recent gunfight between armed village volunteers and unidentified gunmen near Heirok village in Manipur’s Thoubal district on Friday. The confrontation began when unidentified gunmen directed fire towards Heirok village in the early hours of Friday, provoking a response from the village volunteers, law enforcement reported.
“The exchange of fire continued for an hour followed by sporadic firing during which one person identified as Ningthoujam James Singh sustained bullet injury and was admitted to a private hospital in Imphal,” according to police sources.
Authorities disclosed that additional state and central police forces have been dispatched to the region to manage the situation and conduct operations.
In another incident, suspected perpetrators set fire to a sawmill near Pallel in Kakching district, adjacent to Thoubal district, during the early hours of Friday.
“Fire tenders were rushed to the spot but the mill was gutted”, police sources disclosed. Security forces have initiated operations to apprehend the culprits, police further added.
Manipur plunged into turmoil in May last year when ethnic conflict erupted following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organized in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Subsequent counter-protests and blockades organized by the Meitei community led to clashes spreading throughout Manipur. Since the onset of these clashes, over 160 casualties have been reported, with hundreds sustaining injuries.
(With agency inputs)