In the early hours of Friday, three people were killed in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, including a senior citizen. The residents claimed that the attackers dressed in police and IRB (India Reserve Battalion) uniforms. It had been 48 hours since there had been any violence in the state of Manipur, according to security expert Kuldiep Singh, who was speaking just before the attack. Ethnic conflict has been a source of agitation in the state for over a month.
Kukis live in Khoken village, where locals claim that at around 4 a.m., armed men entered the area and started shooting for around two hours.
The police stated that three people died and two were injured, but they withheld other information about the incident.
Near the border between Imphal West and Kangpokpi district is Khoken. Sangaithel, a neighbourhood in Imphal West district, is only a kilometre away from the village. The three victims were recognised by Khoken residents as being Jangpao Touthang, 40; Khaijamang Guite, 52; and Domkhohoi, 65. In the early hours, some 40 people invaded the area, according to Thongkhup Doungel, a local and Domkhohoi's younger brother. They started firing indiscriminately while wearing a mixture of black T-shirts used by Arambai Tenggol members, police, and IRB uniforms.
About two hours passed during the firing. Informing the nearest CRPF camp of our departure from the village, we went there. When the CRPF and the Gorkha Regiment arrived in the area, the attackers eventually withdrew. According to him, they left in five gipsy cars, which we could see were police cars.
According to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), militants from the valley dressed as soldiers carried out the assault. Those killed, according to the forum, were civilians.
The Kuki-Zo people, believing it to be a combing operation and not suspecting the attackers' true identities, yielded but were confronted with automatic rifle fire, the tribal body claimed, leading to the unfortunate deaths of locals.In response to the incident, the Committee on Tribal Unity in Sadar Hills decided to reimpose the closure of the National Highway, which had previously been blocked off to allow for the passage of necessities.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the direction of a DIG-rank official to investigate incidents concerning the near-to-100-person-death ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis in Manipur. This time, six FIRs have been reregistered. The SIT is composed of 10 policemen.
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