A jawan from the 4th Mahar Regiment sustained a minor bullet injury while retaliating against an attack by armed militants targeting farmers at the Sanasabi paddy field, a Meitei inhabited area, in Manipur’s Imphal East district on Sunday.
Police said that suspected Kuki militants launched an attack on farmers harvesting paddy at Sanasabi Loukol and Thamnapokpi (an adjacent village) under the jurisdiction of Yaingangpokpi police station around 10am.
An eyewitness told HT, “A bomb just landed near me while I was piling the hay in the paddy field. They attacked from Uyok Ching Maning (Uyok hillock) followed by heavy gunfire. We abandoned our work and fled to save our lives.”
The Imphal East district police, along with the 4th Mahar Regiment and the 119th Battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF), retaliated heavily, leading to an exchange of gunfire that lasted for about 40 minutes.
A senior police officer from Imphal East district said, “While retaliating, one jawan sustained a minor bullet injury to his left arm, which was treated with first aid at the scene.”
“Heavy gunfire was also exchanged on Saturday night at Thamnapokpi and Sanasabi. Suspected Kuki militants launched Saturday’s attack around 9.30pm, which continued until about 2am, Sunday. However, no injuries were reported,” added the officer.
The violence in Manipur escalated after a 31-year-old woman was killed following an alleged attack by armed miscreants in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Friday. The following day, another 34-year-old woman succumbed to bullet injuries while working in the paddy fields at Lailampat, Bishnupur district, under the jurisdiction of Kumbi police station.
On Saturday night, militants from three different locations of Kuki villages launched an attack using sophisticated weapons, including bombs, at Mongbung village (a Meitei village) around 9.30pm, according to the district police.
The exchange of fire continued until 2am Sunday and turned into sporadic firing until 4am. No casualties were reported in this incident.
In Bishnupur district, in the vicinity of Saiton village, gunfire was exchanged between combined state and central forces and armed Kuki militants on Saturday night. The combined security forces conducted area domination, but sporadic firing continued until early Sunday morning, according to a senior district police official.
Meanwhile, 10 Kuki Zo legislators accused chief minister N Biren Singh of lying and misleading the Supreme Court of India.
A joint statement signed by 10 Kuki-Zo legislators said, “…the ten MLAs have learned that during the Supreme Court hearing held on November 8, 2024, the Solicitor General of India submitted that ‘the Chief Minister is meeting all Kuki MLAs and trying to de-escalate the situation to bring peace’…this submission is a blatant lie and amounts to misleading the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.”
The statement said that the 10 Kuki-Zo legislators have never had a meeting with chief minister N. Biren Singh since the violence in Manipur erupted on May 3 last year. It also mentioned that they have no intention of meeting him, accusing Biren Singh of being the mastermind behind the Manipur violence. They also accused the Solicitor General of presenting arguments before the Supreme Court without verifying the facts.
The legislators strongly condemned the killing of a woman by Meitei militias in spite of heavy deployment of security forces in Jiribam district.
When contacted, people familiar with the matter in the CM’s office said on condition of anonymity that the statement by the Kuki-zo MLAs was not true and meeting between them and the CM had taken place.
