Imphal: After a farmer was shot at by unidentified gunmen on Saturday, over 2,200 security personnel have been deployed at vulnerable paddy fields in Manipur.
The Manipur government has taken the measures to facilitate the plantation of paddy rice at vulnerable places in eight districts of the northeastern state, where there have been sporadic firings in the backdrop of ethnic violence.
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This is the first time that a farmer has been shot and injured while working in a paddy field in Manipur.
Over 2,200 security forces have been deployed in the vulnerable areas to ensure the smooth functioning of the agricultural season, said a police official.
He said farmers have also been appealed not to venture out to paddy fields without security forces.
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The incident took place on Saturday morning in Phubala, Bishnupur district, when some farmers went to their paddy fields on the west side of High Canal.
The farmers had ignored the advice of the district administration and security forces not to go beyond the canal, the official added.
Some armed miscreants fired a few rounds at the farmers, injuring one of them, Yumnam Sanjoy, 44, on his right thigh. Sanjoy was rushed to a hospital in Imphal.
The security personnel deployed in the area retaliated by firing some rounds and repelled the miscreants.
The Manipur government has taken up the safety measures for the welfare of the farmers in the eight districts of Bishnupur, Churachandpur, Imphal East, Imphal West, Kangpokpi, Chakching, Thoubal, and Tengnoupal, said an official.
The police have appealed to the farmers to not venture out to paddy fields without prior information to the concerned district superintendents of police, district commissioners, and agriculture officers.
The officers are getting ready to provide assistance to the farmers at their best, the police said.