Days before polling, two killed in fresh violence in Manipur

A senior police officer confirmed that there was firing in the area, and said two persons are suspected to have died but the bodies haven’t been found yet.

Purported videos of the killings — police said the videos are prima facie from Saturday — showed the bodies being stamped on, disfigured and dragged.

According to sources, there was heavy cross-firing between two armed groups at about 8 am. The incident took place in an area under the jurisdiction of Maphoudam police station in Imphal East district, where the districts of Imphal East, Kangpokpi, and Naga-majority Ukhrul meet.

The Committee of Tribal Unity, a Kuki-Zomi group based in Kangpokpi district, called for a 24-hour shutdown in the district on Sunday.

Saturday’s killings come less than a week before polling takes place for the Inner and Outer Manipur Lok Sabha seats in most of the conflict-hit parts of the state. The campaigning has been muted so far but was looking to pick up, especially with Union Home Minister Amit Shah expected to arrive on April 15.

On Friday, at least two people from the Meitei community were injured in a gunfight which broke out in the adjoining areas of Tengnoupal and Kakching districts. The renewed flare-ups over the past two days come after the longest period of relative peace the state has witnessed in the 11 months after violence broke out on May 3 last year.

The last major flare-up was on February 27, when members of radical armed Meitei group Arambai Tenggol abducted two police personnel — including an Additional Superintendent of Police — and attacked the ASP’s residence after police arrested some of its members in connection with the theft of vehicles.

Earlier that month, two people from the Kuki-Zomi community were killed as security forces used force against a crowd that stormed the offices of the SP and the DC over the suspension of a constable from the community.