Woman among two dead and nine injured in militant attack in Manipur

Imphal, September 1 (IANS): Two people, including a woman, were killed and nine others, including a policeman and the slain woman's minor daughter, were injured when suspected militants opened fire in the valley areas of Manipur on Sunday, police said.

Soon after the militant attack – which involved the use of drones, bombs and numerous sophisticated weapons – the Manipur government decided to crack down on the perpetrators.

Rajiv Singh, Director General of Police of Manipur, in an urgent message asked the police commissioners of all 16 districts to maintain high alert and vigilance in all areas, including the peripheral areas.

“All forces deployed in their areas must also be alerted. There must be proper coordination among the forces deployed to prevent any untoward incident. Joint search operations must be carried out,” said the order, which also asked senior police officers to closely monitor the situation.

A police official said the heavily armed militants fired indiscriminately from a hilltop and also hurled bombs at the lower valley areas of Koutruk and neighbouring Kadangband in Imphal West district, killing the 31-year-old woman and a villager and injuring nine others, including the woman's eight-year-old daughter and a policeman.

All of the injured suffered gunshot wounds.

The official said the sudden attack by suspected insurgents had created widespread tension and panic, causing many villagers, including women, children and the elderly, to flee to seek shelter in safer places.

The body of the murdered Meitei woman, identified as Ngangbam Surbala Devi, and the villager were taken to the government-run Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) for autopsy.

The woman's daughter, police officer N. Robert (30) and other injured people were also taken to RIMS and other hospitals.

The woman who was killed and the other injured were in their homes when heavy fire and bombing suddenly began.

Many houses were also damaged by the shelling and bombings.

A large contingent of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and state security forces rushed to the area and launched a search operation to nab the militants.

The Manipur Home Ministry issued a statement shortly after the militants' attack saying that the state government had come to know about the unfortunate incident of the attack on unarmed villagers of Koutruk on Sunday, in which drones, bombs and numerous sophisticated weapons were used.

It was said that the Kuki militias had caused the deaths of two people and the injuries of many others.

“Such acts of terror against unarmed villagers are being taken very seriously by the government as the state government is making all possible efforts to bring normalcy and peace back to the state.”

The Home Ministry statement said that such chaos among the unarmed villagers, reportedly caused by Kuki militants, was considered an attempt to thwart the state government's efforts to bring peace in the state and such acts were condemned in the strongest possible terms.

The state government has already taken immediate action to bring the situation under control and punish those involved in Sunday's attack in Koutruk village in Imphal West district, the statement said.

Sunday's incident is the second murder in the last month.

The wife of a former MP, Charubala Haokip (59), was killed in an explosion in Ekou Mullam in the tribal-dominated Kangpokpi district of Manipur on August 11.

According to police, Charubala Haokip (59), the wife of former MP Yamthong Haokip (64), was seriously injured in the explosion and was immediately taken to the Community Health Center in Saikul, where she succumbed to her injuries.

The explosion occurred when the victim was burning garbage in her apartment complex.

Haokip (MP from 2017-2022) was also in his house at the time of the explosion, but was not injured in the blast.

Charubala belongs to the Meitei community while Yamthong is from the Kuki-Zo community.