Four civilians killed in violence-hit Manipur; Govt to intensify crackdown on militants

Imphal: Four people were shot dead in Manipur's Bishnupur district on Thursday evening as ethnic violence continued in the northeastern state, police said.The incident occurred at Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou and the victims included a man and his 60-year-old father.Police said they are investigating the case.

Quoting one person who escaped the shooting, an official said, "Five-six armed miscreants came when the labourers were tiling the farmland and shot them from point-blank range."
After shooting them down, the miscreants fled to the hill ranges from where they had come, the official added.

With these four, at least seven people including two police commandos were killed in separate districts of the state since Wednesday.

Amid this, Manipur government's security advisor Kuldiep Singh on Thursday said the current locations of the three state police commando units in violence-hit Moreh town were unsuitable, making them vulnerable targets. Singh said in the wake of Wednesday's militant attack on the forces, it has been decided to relocate the three commando units to other areas of the border town.

Regarding the attack on police personnel in Moreh town on January 17, Singh said an intelligence report had earlier warned of assaults by insurgents, including "reinforcements from Burma". However, there is no evidence that connects foreign parties to the incident, he added.

Addressing a press conference here, Singh said, "Yesterday morning, militants targeted the commando posts at three locations - two hotels and SBI Moreh. After numerous coordination meetings, it was concluded that the units were positioned in the lower areas of the town, making them susceptible to attacks from hill areas. We have decided to relocate the units to higher areas of the town, where they can effectively counter the militants."

Singh said operations against the militants commenced on Thursday evening.

Additional reinforcements, including one company of BSF, two army columns, and four casper vehicles have arrived in Moreh. Furthermore, a helicopter from the Union Home Ministry has also reached the area, he added.

"We have taken measures to ensure that all forces can collaborate and take action against the militants," Singh added.

Manipur has been rocked by ethnic violence since May last year and over 180 people were killed.

The violence erupted on May 3 after a Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.