At least three “village volunteers” were killed and five others injured in an exchange of fire with unidentified gunmen in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, police said on Sunday.
The incident took place in Khoijumantabi village late on Saturday night when the “village volunteers” were guarding the area in a makeshift bunker, a police officer said.
While two bodies were found initially, the third one was recovered later.
Five people were injured in the shootout that lasted for several hours. A couple of them, the condition of whom was stated to be serious, were brought to a hospital in Imphal, police said.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh went to the spot to take stock of the situation and interacted with the locals.
Following this attack, angry locals apparently attacked nearby Kuki-dominated villages where another person was killed, with several organisations claiming that the victim, David Thiek, had been beheaded and his head displayed on a pike. A church was also supposedly razed to the ground.
More than 100 people have lost their lives in the ethnic strife between Meitei and Kuki communities in the northeastern state so far.
Meiteis account for about 53 percent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals – Nagas and Kukis – constitute another 40 percent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
