Most of those injured are from the valley and one person is said to be critical. The injured are recuperating at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, according to information.
At least 16 people were injured in “heavy exchange of fire” in Phayeng area of Imphal East, bordering Kangpokpi district, on Friday, the police said on Saturday.
Most of those injured are from the valley and one person is said to be critical. The injured are recuperating at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, according to information.
The incident came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah left Imphal following a three-day visit to the state to take stock of the prevailing situation, following clashes that began early May. Shah met various stakeholders in the state during the visit.
On Friday, the exchange of fire started around 9.30 am and continued until late evening, police officials and local residents said.
Angom Rabikanta, a resident of Phayeng, said three miscreants equipped with sophisticated weapons set fire to his farmhouse before opening fire at villagers around 9.30 am. Rabikanta said the trio, “suspected to be Kuki militants”, came down from the side of the hills “and set fire to my farmhouse”.
Following this, villagers armed with licensed weapons exchanged gunfire with the miscreants, who eventually retreated to a nearby hill, Rabikanta said.
As the news spread, hundreds of people from different parts of adjoining areas, many of them carrying weapons, including a few automatic rifles, rushed to the village and intense firing broke out between these armed individuals, local residents said.
Phayeng is one of several villages in the peripheral areas of Imphal that have been attacked by armed miscreants, suspected to be Kuki militants, since clashes first broke out on May 3. The last incident occurred on May 28, in which one villager was killed.
A statement issued by the Secretariat said the violence that broke out on May 3 has claimed 98 lives so far, and nearly 4,000 weapons have been “looted from the armoury” of state forces and the police.