Songwriter among 6 killed in fresh Manipur flare-up

According to a defence source, intermittent firing had continued to take place through Wednesday, and by evening, one person from Bishnupur, four people from Churachandpur and two IRB personnel had sustained injuries.

On Thursday morning, two of the injured people from the Kuki-Zomi community succumbed to their injuries.

One of them has been identified as songwriter L S Mangboi (42) who was popular locally, especially for a song he had written during the ongoing conflict called ‘I gam hilo ham’, which translates to ‘Isn’t this our land?’

According to Churachandpur police, he was being transported to Aizawl for treatment as he was in critical condition, but succumbed to his injuries en route. After leaving close to midnight, local residents said he died at Songtal, around 100 km from Churachandpur, after which he was brought back to the town.

According to a doctor at Churachandpur district hospital, Mangboi had suffered a head injury in an explosion, and since the hospital does not have a neurosurgeon, he was being taken to Mizoram to be transported to Guwahati.

Richard Hemkholin Guite (36), who local residents said was a village defence volunteer, was also injured on Wednesday and succumbed to his injuries in the Churachandpur district hospital on Thursday morning.

With firing continuing to take place through Thursday, two more persons, identified as Paokam Kipgen (45) and Pausondam (32), were killed in Churachandpur district. According to local residents, they were defence volunteers stationed in the front line area.

In Bishnupur, two Meitei men, who have been identified as Pebam Deban (50) and Moirangthem Gopen (48), died on Thursday as a result of injuries from explosions, police said.

The six who died on Thursday took the total number of deaths in the firing that started on Tuesday to nine.

In reaction to the mounting casualties in the ongoing firing, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum – a conglomerate of different tribal bodies in Churachandpur – announced an “emergency shutdown” in the district, with exemption for services such as healthcare, police, water and electricity.

According to a defence source, firing intensified in the Phubala area at around 5.30 pm on Thursday, while the intensity lessened in the south.

“There have been efforts to deploy security forces as per the requirement, but they are continuously being stopped by women activists,” the official said.