IMPHAL (The Thursday Times) — A woman was shot dead and at least one other person was wounded on Thursday when armed groups exchanged fire near Taphou Kuki village on the border of Manipur’s Kangpokpi and Senapati districts, according to local reports.
The woman, from Taphou Kuki, was working in a paddy field when the firing broke out at around 11 am, the reports said. An injured man was taken to a hospital in Kangpokpi. There were unconfirmed reports of casualties on the other side.
Official confirmation from the police and district authorities was still awaited on Thursday evening. Security forces reached the area, and commuters were advised to avoid non-essential travel on the NH-2 highway.
A harvest turned deadly
People from both Taphou Kuki and the neighbouring village of Kailengjang had gone out to harvest their fields, accompanied by village guards, local reports said. A dispute broke out between the two groups on opposite banks of a stream and turned into an exchange of fire.
A village already in mourning
Taphou Kuki has been at the centre of tension since two young men from the village went missing on October 28 and were found dead in Senapati district on November 1.
The Committee on Tribal Unity, a Kangpokpi-based Kuki body, began sit-in protests this week, saying the state government had failed to act on its demands. It wants the village placed under the Kangpokpi district police rather than Senapati’s.
Manipur’s police chief for law and order, Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo, said on Tuesday that a proposal to hand the killing of the two youths to the National Investigation Agency was at an advanced stage.
Violence between communities in the state’s hill districts has continued in recent weeks, with attacks on vehicles forcing residents of Ukhrul onto broken back roads.
