GUWAHATI: A woman was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Manipur on Thursday as the ethnic violence in the state continued.
The incident occurred near Sishu Niketan School at Mayaikoibi on the outskirts of state capital Imphal.
The police and a forensic team rushed to the site and recovered the body.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) condemned the killing. It identified the deceased as Donngaihching.
“A Kuki-Zo tribal woman who did not leave Imphal despite the ethnic cleansing in Manipur’s capital because of a mental illness was shot dead on Thursday morning in the heart of the city. The victim, Ms. Donngaihching, was killed by Meitei gunmen near Shishu Niketan school in Kwakeithel, Imphal West,” the ITLF said in a statement.
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The tribal organisation said the woman used to spend her days walking the streets aimlessly and lived in a small shed near a church in Lamphel area, adding the shed was built by sympathizers while fellow tribals used to give her food.
“The ITLF vehemently refutes the false allegations on social media by Meitei propagandists that she was a suicide bomber. The disinformation campaign by the state-sponsored IT cell is becoming flimsier every day and does not spare even the mentally-challenged,” the statement said.
It alleged that no tribals, including women and children, were safe from the “genocidal program of the majority community”.
The ITLF urged the central government to “relieve the incapable state government” and impose President’s rule immediately.
Meanwhile, as the violence refuses to die down, a 30-member delegation from adjoining Nagaland visited Manipur on Thursday.
In a joint statement, the leaders of Forum for Naga Reconciliation, Nagaland Joint Christian Forum and Fellowship of Naga Baptist Churches said they undertook the journey to offer friendship, show their commitment to end the escalating violence and express solidarity with the people of Manipur.