MANIPUR : Nine PERSONS were killed on Tuesday night in incidents of firing and arson in Aigejang village in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district. Less than 24 hours later, Kangpokpi MLA and state cabinet minister Nemcha Kipgen’s official quarters was set on fire in Imphal at around 6:30 pm Wednesday.
This is the highest toll in a single incident in the fresh wave of violence in the state. After initial large-scale clashes from May 3 to 5, Manipur has seen a second major wave of violence, primarily in the form of arson and shootings in areas between the Kuki-dominated hills and the Meitei-dominated valley. The incident from Tuesday night has taken the toll in Manipur since clashes began to at least 114.
According to the Superintendent of Police, Imphal East, the incident took place around 10:30 pm Tuesday. While Aigejang falls under the Kangpokpi revenue district, it comes under the jurisdiction of Imphal East, since it lies at the border of these two districts. Kangpokpi is a Kuki-dominated district while Imphal East is dominated by Meiteis.
While Aigejang is a Kuki village, the nine bodies that were recovered were of Meitei people who were not residents of the village, police said, adding that they were “local volunteers”.
Eight of them have been identified as RK Prasanta (28), Konjengbam Sangkar Singh (25), Haobijam Somenkumar Singh (24), Moirangthem Heman Singh (34), Laishram Naithobi Devi (32), Y. Surjitkumar (43) and Laishram Suresh (33). Most hail from different parts of Imphal East district.
