2 dead as fresh violence erupts in Manipur, alert sounded in all districts

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaSeptember 2, 2024

Fresh violence erupted in Manipur on Sunday resulting in the deaths of two individuals, including a woman, in Koutruk Village, Imphal West. A Meitei woman was killed and her daughter was seriously injured after a group of militants opened fire indiscriminately on their village at around 11.30 am, according to a senior police official.

The woman was shot in the head and died while her minor daughter was struck on her right arm. Seven others, including a Manipur police commando, also sustained injuries in the incident.

In response to this attack, Manipur’s Director General of Police (DGP) Rajiv Singh has instructed all Superintendents of Police (SPs) across different districts to maintain maximum alertness and vigilance, including in the fringe areas.

In a WT message to the SP, the DGP said all forces deployed in their areas must also be alerted. “There must be proper coordination between the forces deployed to prevent any untoward incident. A joint combing operation must be conducted. ADGP(LO), Zonal IGPs, and range DIGPs must monitor the law and order situation to prevent any incident,” the WT message added.

In an official release,  the Manipur government said: “The state government has learnt about the unfortunate incident of attack on unarmed Koutruk villagers using drone, bombs and many sophisticated weapons on September 1 reportedly by Kuki militants causing the death of 2 persons including one woman and injuries to many.”

“Such act of terrorising upon the unarmed villagers is viewed very seriously when the state government is putting all possible efforts towards bringing normalcy and peace in the state,” the release said.

“Such act of creating havoc among the unarmed villagers reportedly by Kuki militants is seen as an attempt to derail the efforts taken by the state government to establish peace in the state. And such acts are condemned very strongly,” it also said.

“The state government has already taken up immediate action to control the situation and to punish those who were involved in today’s attack on Koutruk Village, Imphal West,” it added.