At Least Two Dead, Three Injured After Fresh Violence Erupts in Manipur's Imphal

Two people were killed and three injured after a gunfight erupted in the Koutruk area of Manipur's Imphal West district on Tuesday, 30 January.

In a statement, police said two individuals were killed in the firing incident "between armed miscreants at bordering area of Kangpokpi and Imphal West districts."

The deceased have been identified as Nongthombam Michaeldev (33) of Wangkhei Thangapat Mapal from the Imphal East district and Wangjam Khaba (23) of Sagoltongba area from the Imphal West district.

"Michaeldev had a BE in civil engineering and had been defending Koutruk areas from sporadic attacks by Kukis since the past few months," one of the deceased victim's friend Angom Tomba told The Quint.

Manipur Police retrieved the bodies of the deceased from the site of the violence and sent them for postmortem to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal.

"He lost his life. It is very sad. I want the government to pay attention. The village volunteers who were killed were totally unprotected. They have sophisticated weapons. I want my brother's cremation site to be made into a park, so that, every Sunday, I can go and offer a candle. I don't want to say anything more."

Nongthombam Naobi, elder brother of the deceased, Nongthombam Michaeldev

Locals in the area told The Quint that heavily armed miscreants clad in uniforms of security forces began attacking Kadangband Part II and adjoining Koutruk areas from Bethel hill range at around 1:55 pm on Tuesday. These areas come under the limits of the Lamsang police station.

Village Defence Volunteers (VDVs) immediately launched a counter attack and a heavy gunfight ensued, during which two people were killed and three were wounded.

The three injured persons included former Manipur unit BJYM (Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha) President M Barish Sharma of Wangkhei area in Imphal East, who told The Quint that he was unconscious for 25 minutes and the bullet had made a hole in his bulletproof vest.

Meanwhile, top police officials and security personnel rushed to the site to monitor the situation. Security reinforcements have also reportedly been deployed.