Manipur flares up again: 9 killed, BJP minister’s residence set on fire

According to the Superintendent of Police, Imphal East, the incident took place around 10:30 pm Tuesday. While Aigejang falls under the Kangpokpi revenue district, it comes under the jurisdiction of Imphal East, since it lies at the border of these two districts. Kangpokpi is a Kuki-dominated district while Imphal East is dominated by Meiteis.

While Aigejang is a Kuki village, the nine bodies that were recovered were of Meitei people who were not residents of the village, police said, adding that they were “local volunteers”.

Eight of them have been identified as RK Prasanta (28), Konjengbam Sangkar Singh (25), Haobijam Somenkumar Singh (24), Moirangthem Heman Singh (34), Laishram Naithobi Devi (32), Y. Surjitkumar (43) and Laishram Suresh (33). Most hail from different parts of Imphal East district.

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Nearly 60 persons were killed in Manipur since ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and Kuki communities last Wednesday. (Express Photo by Jimmy Leivon)

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The clashes broke out during a ‘Tribal Solidarity March,’ called by the All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur, against the demand for inclusion of the state’s Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, following a Manipur HC directive. (Express Photo by Jimmy Leivon)

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Clashes between the two groups were first reported in an area bordering Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts. (Express Photo by Jimmy Leivon)

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As the situation worsened the next day, the state’s Home Department issued “shoot-at-sight” orders “in extreme cases”. (Express Photo by Jimmy Leivon)

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Following these clashes, Chief Minister N Biren Singh held an all-party meeting, and a video conference with security personnel calling for calm and an end to violence. (PTI Photo)

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In this picture, a Gurukul Art student in Mumbai is seen painting an appeal to stop the violence. (PTI Photo)

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The governments of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand have been rushing to get their residents out of Manipur as soon as possible as violence continues to engulf the state. (PTI Photo)

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Over 100 columns of Army and Assam Rifles have been working since 96 hours in order to significantly enhance the surveillance capability in Manipur. (PTI Photo)

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The clashes led the people of Manipur raise slogans marking a protest against the violence at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

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The SC has taken note of the assurance given by the Centre and Manipur government that steps were taken to control the situation in Manipur under control. Here, Army and Assam Rifles personnel can be seen assisting people of violence-hit areas, at a relief camp. (PTI Photo)

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The curfew, imposed after the violence broke out, was relaxed from 5 am to 8 am in Imphal West district to allow people buy essential items. (PTI Photo)

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In this picture, health workers can be seen giving free medicines to people from violence-hit areas of Manipur at a relief camp setup by the Assam Government, in Cachar district of Assam. (PTI Photo)

The bodies were recovered late at night from the village and were taken to Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal.

This particular border area has been seeing heavy exchange of fire since Monday, and has witnessed an influx of residents from across Imphal East to “defend” Meitei-dominated parts. Through Tuesday evening, they continued to flow into the area, several of them wielding arms.

According to a defence source, the incident in which the nine were killed came after these volunteers moved towards Kuki villages starting around 6 pm that evening. Another adjacent village in Kangpokpi district had already been burned down in the earlier violence on Monday.

“Seeing a large movement of people of a particular community in the area, most residents of these villages had already vacated the area… Around 6 pm, the arson attempts began again. They moved very fast and burnt down eight villages in the lower foothills and higher reaches in a short span of time. The shooting from the hill side was in retaliation to this,” he said.

One of the injured, undergoing treatment for multiple bullet injuries, said, “Twelve of us went to deliver food to the volunteers who were camping at one of the villages in Khamenlok area. After we reached the place, we were asked to stay inside the church while a few of the volunteers went to call others. It was raining heavily. And all of a sudden, we were fired upon from one side, followed by firing from another side by another group. We were completely surrounded and helpless. A significant number of volunteers were far from where we were.” He did not want to be identified.

On Wednesday evening, Kipgen’s official quarter in Imphal West’s Lamphel was set on fire by miscreants. Kipgen is a BJP MLA and the minister for the Textiles, Commerce & Industry Department and the Cooperation Department. She is one of the state’s 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs, and has been away from Imphal since the outbreak of the violence last month.