Unidentified assailants kill 3 in Manipur's Kangpokpi amid ongoing tensions

Manipur witnessed more violence on Tuesday when unidentified armed men suspected to be cadres of banned terror groups attacked people from the tribal community this morning killing three of them in Kangpokpi district officials said The incident took place between Ireng and Karam Vaiphei villages in the tribaldominated Kanggui area located in the bordering districts of West Imphal and KangpopkiThe three persons had started their journey from Ponlen in Kangpopki district and were proceeding towards Lemakong using the hill road when they were stopped by the armed assailants at Ireng near Singhda dam and gunned down the officials said adding automatic weapons were used in the incident Immediately after hearing the gunshots security forces and the Army units arrived from nearby locations and saw the three bodies lying in pool of blood the officials said adding later Manipur Police arrived at the scene and took over the investigationsThe 19km kacha hill road is often frequented by the tribals to reach Churachandpur which otherwise could be easily approached by using the road network going through the Imphal valley But after the violence that erupted in May the tribals have refrained from coming down to the valleyA central paramilitary post had seen the movement of a group of around 30 people dressed in police uniforms in the area In the past cadres of the banned terror groups like the United National Liberation Front UNLF Peoples Liberation Army PLA Kanglei Yawol Kanba Lup KYKL and Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak PREPAK have been using combat uniform of Manipur Police to carry out attacks on the tribalsAll these organisations are banned under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention ActIndigenous Tribal Leaders Forum ITLF a joint body of KukiZo tribals condemned the incident and urged the Centre to crack down on insurgent groups and reimpose the Armed Forces Special Powers Act AFSPA in the valley The chorus for AFSPA which has been extended only to the hill areas by the state government for another six months is gaining momentum among the security establishment as they reason out that the armed assailants including terror cadres disappear in the valley after carrying out attacks on tribals and security forces in the hills The ITLF said the tribals have steadfastly tried to maintain peace after the initial bout of violence in May but the unending attacks and arson are testing us to the limitCommittee on Tribal Unity COTU a Kangpokpibased civil society organisation also condemned the attack If the Union government is serious about its appeal for restoration of normalcy it must immediately declare all the valley districts as disturbed areas and impose the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 it said in a statementThe incident comes close on the heels of the violence that broke out at Pallel in Tengnoupal district in which three persons were killed and over 50 injured on September 8 The security agencies have been warning that the terrorists belonging to the banned groups like UNLF PLA KYKL and PREPAK were allegedly part of the mob from which gunshots were fired at an army officer that left him severely injured last weekDuring a standoff last week a bullet hit Lt Col Raman Tyagi in his hand when Army and Assam Rifles were stopping a mob which included Meira Paibis women vigilantes from attacking tribals at Molnoi village near Pallel in Tengnoupal district Lt Col Tyagi had to be airlifted from Manipur to Guwahati where he underwent surgery the officials said He was earlier evacuated to a military hospital in Leimakhong by a helicopter after which he was shifted to neighbouring Assam for specialised treatmentThe investigation into the incident led the security agencies to conclude that the terrorists of the banned groups were part of the crowd the officials saidMore than 180 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 when a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei communitys demand for Scheduled Tribe status Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipurs population and live mostly in the Imphal valley while tribals including Nagas and Kukis constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districtsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever