Imphal: In renewed violence in Manipur, three persons were killed and three others injured after suspected militants attacked firewood collectors along the Imphal East-Kangpokpi district border in Manipur on Monday.
Three persons have been reported missing.
The fresh attack triggered protests in Imphal, with locals placing two of the victims’ bodies outside Manipur chief minister Y Khemchand Singh’s residence.
The attack occurred around 7 am in Khongbal Sunurok Uyok in the Kangpokpi district, near the Nongshum village in Imphal East. Three people remained missing after the incident, officials said.
The protests also led to road blockades and the closure of markets and shops across Imphal, as reported by The Times of India.
The victims were among 16 people who had gone to the hills near their village to collect firewood when suspected militants opened fire on them, officials said.
The deceased were identified as Arubam Ronil, 35, Lairenlakpam Inaobi, 51, and Kshetrimayum Sushil, 32. Ronil and Inaobi died on the spot, while Sushil succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital in Imphal, an official said.
The injured were identified as N Suraj, 19, Meisnam Somendro, 53, and K Bosan, 45. They were undergoing treatment. Three people were still unaccounted for, PTI reported, citing officials.
“While we were loading the firewood, we were suddenly fired upon,” an injured survivor, who was taken to a private hospital in Imphal, said.
Angry locals brought two of the deceased’s bodies to Imphal and placed them outside the main gate of the chief minister’s residence in Babupara to protest the continuing violence in the state.
Police fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the protesters. The bodies were subsequently taken to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS).
Security was tightened around the chief minister’s bungalow and along the routes leading to it.
Following the demonstration, chief minister Khemchand Singh visited the injured people receiving treatment at a private hospital in Imphal but did not respond to media queries.
The attack triggered demonstrations at several locations in the state capital. Protesters blocked a road at Khurai Lamlong, while a group of women staged a demonstration at Ema Keithel market.
Markets and shops across Imphal shut following the incident, as anger grew over the latest attack.