Day after 3 Meiteis killed, Kuki man shot dead as Manipur violence escalates

GUWAHATI: A 45-year-old Kuki tribesman was shot dead by gunmen while collecting bamboo shoots in a forest in Manipur's Kangpokpi on Tuesday. His companion escaped unhurt.

The killing came a day after three Meitei villagers were ambushed and killed nearby, and amid the arrest of three Kuki-Zo suspects in that attack. P Muolding village authority said the deceased Kuki, Paolenmung Thangeo, was an unarmed civilian and alleged he was shot by Naga militants.

ADGP (law and order) Lhari Dorje said two of the men for Monday's ambush admitted to being part of the attack, while the role of the third is being investigated. Based on the trio’s interrogation, security forces confiscated 12 firearms, including INSAS, M16, AK-47, Type 81, sniper and Heckler & Koch rifles, three 12-bore guns, a lethode gun and a locally manufactured rocket launcher, along with 1,095 rounds of ammunition.

Imphal valley shuts down over three Meitei killings Manipur Police identified them as cadres of Kuki National Front (N), which is outside the ambit of the tripartite Suspension of Operations agreement with Centre and the state govt. Based on the trio’s interrogation, security forces confiscated 12 firearms, including INSAS, M16, AK-47, Type 81, sniper and Heckler & Koch rifles, three 12-bore guns, a lethode gun and a locally manufactured rocket launcher, along with 1,095 rounds of ammunition.

The explosives haul included TNT slabs, rifle grenades, Chinese-made hand grenades, crude mortars and three detonators. In a separate operation Tuesday, teams of Manipur Police, CRPF, Co BRA, Assam Rifles, and NSF searched the area around the designated So O camp, known as Sinai.

The ADGP said 17 people were detained after their identities did not match the listed cadres of the KNO and KNA groups. He added that ammunition and magazines were found missing from the camp and verification was underway to determine whether they match the weapons seized during the operations.

The Committee on Tribal Unity, Kangpokpi, announced a 24-hour total shutdown from Tuesday midnight, condemning Thangeo’s killing and terming the arrests of three Kuki-Zo men “indiscriminate”. It alleged the arrests were made “without first establishing their involvement through a fair and impartial investigation.” The organisation said 32 Kuki-Zo lives had been lost, 30 villages targeted in arson, 271 houses destroyed and 2,516 people displaced since the conflict escalated.

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Key quotes

• “without first establishing their involvement through a fair and impartial investigation.”