Three Killed, Several Injured, Three Missing in Separate Incidents Across Manipur

Three people were killed, several others injured and three reported missing in separate incidents in Manipur’s Imphal East, Thoubal and Kamjong districts, police said on Monday.

In Imphal East, two people were allegedly shot dead and two others injured when suspected militants ambushed a group of firewood collectors in a hilly forested area near Nongshum on Monday morning.

According to a police official, around 10 people had gone to the area to collect firewood when the suspected militants opened fire on them, killing two people on the spot and injuring two others. Three more people were reported missing after the incident.

Efforts were underway to retrieve the bodies, while additional security personnel were rushed to the area. A massive search operation was launched to locate the missing people and track down the attackers.

In a separate incident in Thoubal district, one person was killed and several others injured in clashes between members of two communities, prompting authorities to impose prohibitory orders in the affected areas.

A police official said the violence erupted at Khangabok village, under Thoubal police station and around 25 km south of Imphal, on Sunday night. The incident reportedly began when a group of people pelted stones at a ground where a music concert was being held.

The situation escalated into stone-pelting between members of the two communities in Khangabok and neighbouring Sangaiyumpham. Several houses and vehicles were also set on fire during the clashes.

Amid the violence, unidentified miscreants opened fire, hitting a man in the head. The injured man, identified as Laishram Rakesh, was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries, police said.

Several other people sustained minor cut injuries after being hit by stones and were admitted to a hospital for treatment. Additional state and central security personnel were deployed in the affected villages to prevent further escalation.

Police said the situation was under control on Monday morning.

Following the violence, the Thoubal District Magistrate issued prohibitory orders on Sunday night, directing residents of Khangabok and Sangaiyumpham not to leave their homes from 11 p.m.

The order, issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), cited the likelihood of a breach of peace, disturbance of public tranquillity and an imminent threat to human life and property due to the alleged unlawful activities of anti-social elements. It did not specify when the restrictions would be lifted.

Meanwhile, more than 25 houses were set ablaze in separate incidents in Manipur’s Kamjong district over the preceding 24 hours. Suspected militants allegedly targeted areas inhabited by both Naga and Kuki communities, forcing civilians to flee their homes and take shelter in forests and a nearby security camp.

Around 14 abandoned houses belonging to members of the Naga community were set on fire by unidentified attackers at Pilong and Skipe villages along the India-Myanmar border on Sunday, a police official said.

Additional security forces were deployed following the incidents. The houses had reportedly been abandoned after earlier attacks on the Naga-inhabited villages.