2 killed, 45 injured in fresh violence in Manipur

PTI, IMPHAL, SEPTEMBER 8, 2023 : Two persons were killed and nearly 50 injured in two different firing incidents at Pallel in Manipur's Tengnoupal district on Friday, officials said. Among the injured, four civilians sustained bullet wounds, they said. 

Firing between two groups of unidentified men began at Pallel around 6 am leading to the death of a person, officials added. He was brought dead to Kakching Jeevan Hospital while the injured who received bullet injuries have been referred to Imphal, they added. 

The condition of one of the injured admitted to Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal is critical, doctors said. As news of the firing spread, a large number of people from different sides of Thoubal and Kakching districts rushed to Pallel but were stopped by Assam Rifles personnel leading to the tense face off, officials said. 

A 48-year-old man was killed in the crossfire between the two groups of unidentified armed men, officials said. More than 45 women were also injured after Assam Rifles lobbed teargas shells to defuse the situation, officials said. 

An Assam Rifles jawan was also injured, they added. On the other hand, a contingent of RAF personnel heading to Pallel from Imphal to contain the mob was blocked by locals at Thoubal. 

Situation is still tense and firing has temporarily stopped, officials said. This comes two days after thousands of protesters gathered at Phougakchao Ikhai in Bishnupur district on Wednesday and tried to break through army barricades in an attempt to reach their deserted houses in Torbung. 

A day before the protest, full curfew had been clamped in all the five valley districts of Manipur as a preventive measure. More than 160 people have been killed and several hundreds injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a "Tribal Solidarity March" was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. 

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley, while tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill district.