A Woman was killed on Sunday around 5.30am in an Attack by unknown armed individuals in Manipur ’s Tollen village, while injuring her husband and son, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Lhingzangai. Her husband Seineh Singshit and son sustained bullet injuries, officers said. According to officers, the incident occurred under the Kaimai Police Station limits in Tamenglong district.
Officers have yet to ascertain who was responsible for the attack. No local group has claimed responsibility so far.
Additional security forces have been deployed in the area. Kaimai Village Authority also strongly condemned the attack.
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The village authority said, “The act appears to be a deliberate and malicious attempt to create disharmony, suspicion and division between the different communities that have long lived together peacefully in this region.”
The village authority demanded that authorities conduct a thorough and impartial investigation to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Both communities (Kuki-Naga) were appealed not to spread rumors or provocation that could escalate tension. Community leaders, elders and civil society organisations were asked to come forward and reaffirm the bonds of peace and understanding between communities.
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“We the people of Kaimai Naga village stand firmly for peace, unity and communal harmony,” said the village authority.
Besides, Kuki Youth Organisation (KYO) Women’s Council (a Kuki women’s body) also expressed strong condemnation. “The reported incident is particularly painful as it comes on a day observed by the Kuki community as Black Day, commemorating the lives lost and suffering endured by Kuki people during the violent events of the 1990s,” the statement said.
The KYO Women’s Council demanded an immediate, impartial and thorough investigation into the reported attack; identification and prosecution of those responsible based on credible evidence and due process; stronger intelligence and preventive security measures; effective protection for women, children and vulnerable civilians; and transparent accountability for attacks in which innocent people have been killed or injured.
In 1990 Naga-Kuki conflict over land and identity claimed more than 1,000 lives and Kuki communities have been commemorating September 13 as “Black Day”.
