GUWAHATI: Strife-torn Manipur continued to remain restive on Friday as an abortive bid was made on the life of a Meitei radical group chief by unknown gunmen while several Kuki-Zo villagers allegedly fled their homes in the Tengnoupal district amid an operation by police commandos to nab the killer of a police officer.Two gunmen, who were reportedly travelling in a car, fired at the vehicle of Mayengbam Pramot Singh (60), chief of radical group Meitei Leepun, but he, as well as his driver, escaped unhurt.
The vehicle was hit by six bullets. Singh was on his way to attend a meeting at the office of Meitei Leepun in Langol under Lamphel police station in Imphal when the attack was carried out by the miscreants. Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack. Moreover, no arrest has been made so far in the connection. Earlier this month, a local court had issued an arrest warrant against Singh in a case registered by the police in Churachandpur district in June for allegedly promoting enmity between communities and making statements prejudicial to national integration.
Meanwhile, the state’s 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs, including seven from ruling BJP, alleged that men, women and children fled their homes in the Tengnoupal district following “atrocities and inhumane excesses” by the police personnel.The fresh trouble in the state broke out after a subdivisional police officer was shot dead by the Kuki militants at Moreh in the Tengnoupal district earlier this week. After the incident, additional forces were rushed to the India-Myanmar border town to control the situation.
In a joint statement, the tribal MLAs alleged that in the ongoing operations in Moreh, the state forces resorted to arson, indiscriminate firing, and looting of civilian properties, vehicles and household items, including documents, gold and cash and other belongings.
“The unprovoked brutality forced common people, including women and children, to flee into a nearby jungle. Several women have been mercilessly assaulted/molested by the commandos and admitted to the local hospital,” the Kuki legislators alleged.
They appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs to immediately intervene and ensure the withdrawal of the commandos deployed in Moreh and other Kuki-Zomi-Hmar tribal areas and replace them with central forces. Further, they demanded that all the erring personnel be booked as per law.The ethnic violence which broke out in the state on May 3 has left over 200 people dead.
