Guwahati: After a period of relative calm, Manipur witnessed heightened tension as two persons were killed in the early morning on Thursday.
The bodies, belonging to members of the Meitei community, were recovered in Haraothel village, located in the border area between Kangpokpi district and Imphal West, following an exchange of heavy gunfire.
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On Thursday, visuals from Imphal showed a gathering of people near the Manipur state unit office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The incident in Haraothel village resulted in the death of two individuals, with several others sustaining injuries, as unidentified individuals opened fire ‘without any provocation’.
The unfortunate event sparked fresh tensions in the heart of Imphal city later in the evening, prompting hundreds of people to take to the streets to denounce the loss of life.
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Tensions escalated further when one of the bodies was brought to Khwairamband ‘women’s market’ in Imphal city.
This prompted a large number of people from various parts of Imphal to gather at the location. The gathering of women chanted slogans criticizing the N Biren Singh government for its failure to prevent such acts of violence.
As the number of people increased, a large number of police and RAF personnel were deployed to manage the situation.
However, the police’s attempts to retrieve the body and request its handover resulted in a confrontation between the protesters and security forces.
Subsequently, tear gas was fired by the police to disperse the crowd, while the protesters responded by throwing stones and using catapults.
A similar clash occurred at Keishampat, where protesters engaged in altercations with the security forces. Tear gas shelling continued until 9:30 pm, but eventually, the security forces managed to retrieve the body from the market.
Additionally, the Army reported an exchange of gunfire along the Kangpokpi border, approximately 2.5 km from Harouthel, at around 5:15 pm.
To date, the ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur has claimed the lives of over 100 people.
The clashes initially erupted on May 3 following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organized in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.