Three people, including a Manipur Rifles constable, were killed and about 30 others were injured after a boundary dispute between the residents of two Naga villages in the State’s Ukhrul district flared up on Wednesday (October 2, 2024).
The two villages, Hunphun and Hungpung, are close to Ukhrul town, the district headquarters about 80 km northeast of the State’s capital Imphal.
District officials said the injured from both the villages were rushed to Imphal for treatment.
The two villages have been locked in a land dispute for a few years. Locals said Wednesday’s conflict – a video of which showed some youth exchanging gunfire – was the fallout of an attack on one of the villages, in which four houses were damaged.
The gunfight started during a ‘social work’ organised by a students’ body from Hungpung village. The villagers of Hunphun objected to the activity, claiming the area where it was being conducted fell under its jurisdiction.
The tense situation in the villages and Ukhrul town made the State government temporarily suspend internet services in the district from 1.20 p.m. on Wednesday. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were also imposed, restricting the movement of people outside their residences.
The Tangkhul Naga community dominates Ukhrul, a hill district. Three Naga legislators – Minister Khashim Vashum, and MLAs Ram Muivah and Leishiyo Keishing – appealed to the people to maintain peace.
“Dear beloved citizens of Hungpung and Hunphun, with a heart weighed down by sorrow, we stand before you today as one of your own, pleading for peace. We reach out to you today in the midst of this unfortunate incident that has cast a dark shadow over our cherished land,” they said in a joint statement.
“Our villages, bound together by blood, history and love, must not be torn apart by the fires of violence and anger. We are not just neighbours; we are a family. Our ancestors walked these same paths, shared their dreams, their hardships, and their joy. Let us not allow this moment to shatter what generations have built. No victory can be found in the pain of our brothers and sisters. Let us pause, reflect, and remember that our strength lies in unity, not division. Every heart that bleeds today is a wound on our shared soul,” they said.
The Tangkhul Baptist Churches’ Association and the Tangkhul Shanao Long, a social organisation, also appealed for peace.
Manipur Congress president, K. Meghachandra, blamed the State’s Home Department and the Ukhrul district administration for failing to gather intelligence in time to prevent the violence. “It is unfortunate that such incidents happen despite the significant presence of security forces in Manipur,” he said.
Published - October 02, 2024 02:13 pm IST
