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Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Manipur: Meitei civil body urges govt to act after attack on farmers
Imphal: The coordinating committee on Manipur integrity (COCOMI), an apex Meitei civil body, issued a statement on Friday urging the government to take necessary action to counter the growing violence during the ongoing cultivation season. This comes a day after a 60-year-old farmer, Ningthoujam Biren, sustained a bullet injury on his left arm after he was allegedly shot by Kuki militants while working in his paddy field at Phubala in Bishnupur district. 'We have been alerting the authorities for years. The current pattern of security deployment is clearly inadequate. Armed militants are targeting farmers in their fields, and this latest incident only reinforces our warnings,' COCOMI convenor Khuraijam Athouba said. A clash also broke out on Sunday morning in Imphal East after a Meitei farmer from Leitanpokpi allegedly arrived with a tractor to plough a paddy field in Sadu Lampak, near a Kuki village. No casualties were reported. With paddy cultivation underway, the COCOMI has demanded deployment of additional security personnel along the first line of hill terrain and foothill ranges bordering the valley's agricultural zones. 'This is the cultivation season. Our farmers have the right to access and cultivate their fields safely. Denying them this security is denying them a basic right,' Athouba added. Also Read:Clash breaks out between Meitei-Kuki communities in Imphal East over farmland Clarifying that people in the valley do not oppose Kuki farmers cultivating on nearby lands, Athouba said, 'But the security forces must act decisively against those carrying arms and threatening either of the community.' Athouba accused the government of only issuing statements but making little implementation on the ground. 'The public is losing patience. This must be the last time such an incident occurs. The government must respond with urgency and seriousness. If not, we could witness another wave of massive public protests,' Athouba said. COCOMI has urged the government to take strong measures to neutralise threats from armed groups on both sides, said Athouba.
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Manipur: Indefinite bandh in Churachandpur district following woman's death
Imphal: Normal life in Manipur's Churachandpur district was brought to a standstill after an indefinite shutdown called by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a Kuki-Zo body. The shutdown comes in wake of the death of Hoikholhing, a woman from the Kuki community, who was allegedly killed during a crossfire between security forces and armed militants. Hoikholhing, said to be the wife of the village chief of Langchingmanbi in Churachandpur, succumbed to a bullet injury during an exchange of fire. The incident occurred while security forces were conducting a search operation in response to an earlier shooting incident in which Ningthoujam Biren, a 60-year-old farmer from Phubala Awang Maning Leikai, was shot in the left arm by unidentified armed assailants on Thursday. Also Read: Elderly Kuki woman killed in cross firing between security forces, armed men in Manipur Condemning the incident, six Kuki civil society organisations have expressed solidarity with the ITLF and extended support to the indefinite shutdown. Churachandpur town wore a deserted look on Friday, with roads blocked by the bandh supporters, particularly the Tiddim Road (NH-150 connecting Imphal and Mizoram via Churachandpur). Educational institutions, markets, and both government and private offices remained closed. However, essential services, including pharmacies and medical facilities, were exempted from the shutdown. In a statement issued on Friday, the Kuki Inpi Youth Affairs, a youth wing of a Kuki organisation, alleged that 'Hoikholhing was shot dead in a crossfire between security forces and armed militants inside her village.' Over 250 people have been killed after ethnic clashes broke out between the Meiteis, who live in the valley, and Kukis, who dominate the surrounding hills, in May 2023.
New Indian Express
5 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Day after violence, tensions prevail in Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts in Manipur
GUWAHATI: Tensions prevail in Manipur's Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts, a day after a Meitei farmer was shot in his left arm by an unknown armed miscreant, and a Kuki woman died in crossfire. Ningthoujam Biren, the farmer from Phubala area of Bishnupur district, was fired upon when he was working in his paddy field along with two other farmers. He was injured in the incident. After the incident, security forces launched a search operation in and around Langchingmanbi, Heichanglok and the western areas of Phubala. 'During the operation, security forces came under fire from unknown armed miscreants, and the forces retaliated accordingly. During the crossfire, one woman from Langchingmanbi village was found dead with a bullet injury. She was later identified as Hoikholhing, wife of Langchingmanbi village chief,' Manipur Police said in a statement. Cases have been registered in connection with the incidents, and an investigation is underway, the statement further stated. Bishnupur adjoins Churachandpur. Bishnupur is a Meitei-majority district while Churachandpur is a Kuki-majority district. The locals of Bishnupur on on June 19 blocked a highway in protest against the attack on the farmer. They demanded the arrest of the assailant and threatened to enforce a shutdown from June 20. It was learnt that Meitei civil society organisations and locals were holding a meeting where they would decide their future course of actions. Meanwhile, a shutdown was being observed in Churachandpur in protest against the killing of the Kuki woman. It was called by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum. The organisation demanded, 'immediate action against those responsible for this atrocity, concrete steps from the central government to ensure the protection of tribal lives and territory, and an independent investigation into the repeated buffer zone violations.' The ethnic conflict between Meiteis and Kukis, which had erupted on May 3, 2023, left over 250 people dead and some 60,000 others displaced.
India Today
13 hours ago
- India Today
Kuki woman killed in crossfire, farmer injured, protests erupt in Manipur
A woman from the Kuki community was killed in a crossfire between security forces and suspected Kuki militants in Chingphei village of Churachandpur district on Thursday, shortly after a gun attack left a Meitei farmer injured in neighbouring Phubala village of Bishnupur district. The incident has reignited ethnic tensions in the region and triggered protests from both Meitei and Kuki to official sources, the firing began around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday after armed miscreants allegedly opened fire at Phubala, a low-lying agricultural village situated along the Bishnupur-Churachandpur assailants, reportedly positioned in the adjoining hills, fired multiple rounds at farmers working in the fields. Sixty-year-old Ningthoujam Biren, a Meitei farmer, was hit in the left arm and was rushed to Bishnupur District Hospital. Speaking from his hospital bed, Biren said, 'I was working in the fields when I heard five gunshots. One of them hit me. We couldn't even see who fired.' Following the attack, security forces launched an area domination operation in nearby Chingphei village, which led to an encounter with suspected militants. During the exchange of fire, a woman identified as Hoikholhing Haokip, wife of Khaikhogin Haokip, the village chief of Langchingmanbi in Churachandpur, was struck by a stray bullet. She was rushed to Churachandpur District Hospital but succumbed to her injuries authorities have not released an official statement on the circumstances surrounding her death, they confirmed that the situation remains tense in both districts. Additional state and central forces have been deployed to prevent further violence and maintain response to the Phubala firing, angry villagers imposed a local bandh, demanding stronger protection for farmers in vulnerable border areas. Women from Phubala also issued an ultimatum to the Governor, Chief Secretary, and Director General of Police, demanding identification and action against the perpetrators by 11 a.m. on Friday, June 21. They warned of a statewide shutdown if their demands are not the death of Hoikholhing Haokip has drawn sharp criticism from Kuki civil society organisations. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) condemned the incident, calling it 'yet another targeted assault aimed at the cleansing of the Kuki-Zo minority.'The ITLF announced an indefinite shutdown across Kuki-dominated areas as a protest and period of mourning. They also demanded immediate action against those responsible, Central government intervention to protect tribal lives, and an independent investigation into alleged violations of buffer Kuki Women's Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) echoed these concerns, calling for the immediate arrest of those involved in Hoikholhing's death and a judicial probe into the incident. The group also called for accountability over all recent buffer zone developments come amid ongoing ethnic unrest in Manipur, which has witnessed recurring violence and clashes since May 2023 between Kuki and Meitei communities. Just days earlier, on June 15, another confrontation erupted in Leitanpokpi, Imphal East, over disputed farmland, further highlighting the fragile peace in the both communities mourn their respective losses and express their anger, the threat of more unrest looms large unless effective measures are taken to de-escalate tensions and ensure safety for civilians in vulnerable Watch
The Hindu
20 hours ago
- The Hindu
Woman killed in fresh Manipur violence
A Kuki woman was killed in Manipur's Churachandpur district on Thursday (June 19, 2025), a day after suspected extremists fired at and injured a Meitei farmer in the adjoining Bishnupur district. There were no official statements on either incident, but the Kuki Women's Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) blamed the death of Hoikholhing Haokip of Langchingmanbi village on Meitei militants. In the afternoon of June 18, a man identified as Ningthoujam Biren was injured after suspected Kuki extremists fired at farmers on the border between Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts. Eyewitnesses said Mr. Biren and two other farmers were working on a paddy field at Phubala in Bishnupur district when five rounds were fired at them from a hillock in the adjoining Churachandpur district. 'He was taken to the district hospital after a bullet struck his left forearm,' a villager said. The Phubala villagers slammed the government for failing to ensure the security of the farmers working close to the vulnerable 'buffer zone', which separates the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley from the surrounding hills where the Kuki-Zos are in the majority. After the incident, angry Bishnupur locals blocked a highway leading to Churachandpur, demanding action against armed Kuki fighters. A women's group threatened a total shutdown across the Imphal Valley from Friday (June 20, 2025) if top State government officials did not visit the affected area. In a statement, the KWOHR condemned the killing of Ms. Haokip allegedly by Meitei militants. 'Despite the presence of a government-declared buffer zone intended to prevent clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities, Meitei militants have repeatedly violated and crossed the buffer line, provoking tensions and directly endangering the lives of innocent civilians,' it said. The organisation demanded the immediate arrest and punishment of the perpetrators of the crime, strict enforcement of the buffer zone with equal accountability on both sides, deployment of neutral Central forces to ensure peace and a judicial inquiry into this incident as well as all recent buffer zone violations. This was the second incident involving farmers working on fields along the buffer zone. On June 15, a confrontation between Kuki and Meitei villagers on the border between Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts sparked tension. According to the Manipur police, the Kukis objected to Meitei farmers working on a paddy field they claimed as theirs. Shooting at farmers working on fields along the buffer zone used to be frequent after the ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo people broke out on May 3, 2023. Such incidents have not been reported after Manipur came under the President's Rule on February 13. The ethnic conflict left more than 250 people dead and some 60,000 others displaced.
