Two persons were killed and several injured in fresh round of violence in Manipur on August 29.
Heavy exchange of fire was reported in the Khoirentak area on the boundary of the Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts.
The firing started hours before the Manipur Assembly session convened on Tuesday. It began around 6.30 a.m. and continued till late in the night. One of the deceased was identified as Jangminlun Gangte (30), a village defence guard. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) said that Gangte was killed around 10 a.m. when Kuki-Zo villages around Khoirentak came under attack. Police, however said that Gangte was killed when a pompi gun (crude machine gun) exploded in his hands.
A defence source said after the firing was reported early in the day, Central security forces and the Army deployed in the area launched operations and apprehended one person, suspected to be involved in the attack.
A second person, identified as Laibujam Inao, was killed on the Bishnupur side. Another villager, Salam Jotin Singh (28) was shot at when he was tending to the fields. He received a bullet injury in his shoulder and was rushed to a hospital where his condition is said to be stable.
The Churachandpur-Bishnupur boundary has seen frequent clashes and violence since the ethnic strife in the State began on May 3. While Churachandpur is dominated by the tribal Kuki-Zo people, Bishnupur is a Meitei-majority district. More than 150 people have been killed and more than 50,000 displaced since May 3.
