On Monday, armed men attacked a group of villagers, killing one of them, in a forest in Kangpokpi district in Manipur, police said.
According to officers, a group of nine villagers from Pongringlong Part I went to collect firewood at around 6.40am.
“Armed persons suspected to be Kuki militants allegedly opened fire on the villagers from a distance of about 500 metres,” said a senior police officer, who requested anonymity.
“Most of the villagers fled the scene, while a person named Zhong Janglong Banmei (58 years old) from Pongringlong First Part of the Naga community was missing. He was shot in the right leg,” the police said. A Manipur Police team rushed to the spot, started a rescue operation and found the body of the missing person. He was identified around 1:30 p.m.
Pongringlong Part-I is located above Tupul Village in Kangpokpi District and is a small Rongmei Naga village with 14 households and a population of about 60 people.
“About four to five bullet wound marks were found on the body, including the head, and it is suspected that they were from close range,” the police said.
The body was recovered by the New Kithelmanby police team and sent for post-mortem examination at Imphal Hospital.
The Pongringlong Youth Club, a local body in Rongmei Naga, expressed its condolences over the killing in a statement and accused the Kukis of the gunmen. The local authority said: “Zhong Janglong Banmei, the village guard of Pongringlong village in Rongmei Naga village, went missing during an attack and shooting at the village by Kuki gunmen.”
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The local body described the matter as a serious matter and demanded a comprehensive and impartial investigation by the competent authority.
The Pongringlong Village Authority refuted the claim that Chunganglong Banmei was a village guard, saying he was a member of the village authority. He went with eight villagers to collect firewood and repair water pipes.
On June 5, three villagers from the Kuki community were killed by gunmen in Loybul Khulin village of New Kithelmanbi subdivision in Kangbukpi District.
Unrest in the state has escalated since May 13 between Kuki and Naga communities following a double ambush incident carried out by unidentified gunmen in Kangbukpi and Nonni areas, which left four civilians dead, including three church leaders and a Naga man.
Following the double ambush, 48 civilians from the Kuki and Naga communities were taken hostage. On May 15, 14 people from each sect were released. However, according to civilian bodies of both communities, 14 Kuki civilians and six Naga civilians are still being held hostage.
