Guwahati: Unidentified miscreants killed a 53-year-old man at the Khuga Tampak Tuithanpi area of Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Saturday. The deceased, identified as Lalkhanthang, was a resident of Dorcas Road, New Lamka in the Churachandpur district. Lalkhanthang was reportedly on a two-wheeler when the incident took place. The body was later sent for post-mortem with the police launching a massive manhunt to nab the perpetrators.
Notably, the police stated that the killing is not related to the ongoing ethnic violence.
Manipur Director General of Police (DGP) Rajiv Singh is visiting the worst-affected district to take stock of the prevailing situation.
Speaking exclusively to ABP Live, DGP Singh said, “A body of a man was recovered in the district on Saturday. After investigation, it was found that the killing is in no way related to the ethnic clashes. We are investigating the case.”
ALSO READ | Manipur Students' Body Stages Protest Over Amit Shah’s ‘Illegal Immigrants’ Remark In Lok Sabha
After a brief lull, violence erupted once again in violence-hit Manipur on Friday with the killing of three people in the state’s Ukhrul district.
Three youths were killed in a gun battle with unidentified armed miscreants in the wee hours of Friday in the district’s remote Thowai Kuki village.
The deceased were reportedly volunteers guarding the village when armed miscreants entered and resorted to indiscriminate firing.
According to sources, those killed were Kuki militants and a result of a gun battle between two groups of Meitei and Kuki militants.
However, Ukhrul Superintendent of Police (SP) Ningshem Vashum said that it is yet to be ascertained whether the deceased were village volunteers or militants.
SP Vashum told ABP Live that unidentified armed miscreants entered the village at around 4.30 am and started firing in which three people were killed. According to the villagers, those killed were armed volunteers guarding the village when the incident took place.
Meanwhile, a team of the Border Security Force (BSF) is reported to be deployed in the hilly area of Thowai Kuki village where Friday’s incident took place.
Over 163 people have been killed and hundreds of others have been injured so far in the three-month-long ethnic clashes in the strife-torn state. The violence has also displaced thousands of people forcing them to take shelter in relief camps set up by the respective district administrations.
Clashes between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zomi communities erupted after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The writer is a senior independent journalist covering the Northeast.
Subscribe And Follow ABP Live On Telegram: https://t.me/officialabplive