Imphal: A journalist with a local TV channel was injured on Saturday as armed men, suspected to be Kuki militants, continued their attacks on Meitei villages in Manipur‘s Imphal East district for the second consecutive day.
Leimapokpam Kabichandra, a video journalist, was covering the ongoing firefight when he sustained a bullet injury on his left thigh around 7:30 AM. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital in Imphal for medical treatment.
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The incident occurred as security forces, comprising state police and Central forces, engaged in a gunbattle with the militants who were firing from the hillsides. A joint search operation was subsequently launched, but no arrests have been reported so far.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh strongly condemned the attacks, describing them as “cowardly and unprovoked.” In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he stated, “Strongly condemn the indiscriminate firing by Kuki militants at Sanasabi and Thamnapokpi in Imphal East, which injured civilians and security personnel. This cowardly and unprovoked attack on innocent lives is an assault on peace and harmony.”
He assured that adequate security personnel had been deployed to the affected areas and that the injured were receiving necessary medical assistance. Singh urged for calm and unity among the people in the face of these challenges.
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The attacks, which began in the early hours of the day, involved the use of sophisticated weapons, including bombs, in Thamnapokpi and Sanasabi villages.
The All Manipur Working Journalist Union (AMWJU) and the Editors’ Guild Manipur also strongly condemned the act of targeting working journalists.