Four Meitei villagers killed by armed Kuki men in Manipur; three bodies found

Guwahati: Four wood collectors, belonging to the Meitei community, were allegedly gunned down by Kuki armed men after they reportedly ventured into a forest along Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts in conflict-hit Manipur on Wednesday.

The victims, including a father-son duo, were residents of Akasoi village in Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district. Sources said the four were allegedly abducted by armed Kuki men when they had gone to collect wood and were later killed. The matter came to light after photographs and video of the deceased were shared on social media pages.

Churachandpur is a Kuki-dominated district.

In a social media post, Manipur Police on Thursday evening said that three bodies have been recovered while a search was under way for the fourth person. "The four went missing at Haotak Mapaolok Ching in Bishnupur district on Wednesday. Security forces are carrying out a search for the fourth missing person and to flush out armed miscreants from the area," read the post.

Some Kuki organisations claimed that those who were killed were "armed Meitei miscreants," who had "intruded into" Churachandpur to attack the Kuki villagers.

Sources in Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley, however, rejected the claim and said that the victims were displaced persons, who had gone into the area to collect wood. The place where the incident happened is situated along the "buffer zone" created by the central security forces to separate the Meitei-dominated valley and the Kuki-dominated hills, in order to prevent further escalation of the violence.

Manipur has remained on the boil since May last year due to the clashes between the Meiteis and the Kuki tribes. Nearly 200 people have been killed and another 60,000 others have been displaced due to the conflict.