A 45-year-old villager died in Manipur in an accident following an attack by an armed group, one of the three such incidents reported over 24 hours from the State’s Imphal Valley since January 27 evening.
Locals said Warrekpam Kiran died when an under-construction bunker collapsed on him after he and other “village defence volunteers” of Bishnupur district’s Santipur village thwarted an attack by gunmen who had descended from Phuroi, a nearby hill.
Editorial | Dangerous status quo: On continuing hostilities in Manipur
Apart from bullets, a bomb hurled by the attackers had hit the bunker before it collapsed. Kiran’s body was handed over to his family after an autopsy at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in the State’s capital Imphal.
On January 27 evening, armed miscreants attacked the Khurkhul village in the Imphal West district. The police registered a case after the village volunteers managed to drive the attackers away.
The third such incident was reported from Sanjenlok village in the Imphal East district around 10 a.m. on January 28. The police said Kuki extremists came down from a nearby hillock and fired about 20 rounds at the village.
No casualty was reported from either Khurkhul or Sanjenlok.
Crowdfunding for victims
Meanwhile, Manipuri and non-Manipuri people from across India and abroad contributed a total of ₹6.48 lakh for the families of eight people killed in Kumbi and Ningthoukhong in the State’s Bishnupur district on January 10 and January 17.
The fundraising was an initiative of Imphal-based Ringo Pebam, the U.S.-based Rajshree Keisham, New Delhi-based Bonet Adhikarimayum, Canada-based Dayananda Paonam, and West Bengal-based Vladimir Adityanath.
“The global contribution campaign was conducted from January 12 to 16. The Ningthoukhong incident took place while the Manipur team worked on the logistics to provide support to the Kumbi victims,” Mr. Pebam said.
The global team agreed that that portion of the contribution for the four Kumbi victims should be shared with the four Ningthoukhong victims too, he said.
More than 200 people have been killed and some 70,000 displaced since the ethnic conflict between the non-tribal Meitei and the tribal Kuki-Zomi group broke out on May 3, 2023.
