GUWAHATI: Unidentified gunmen shot dead four civilians at Lilong in the Thoubal district of Manipur’s Imphal valley on Monday evening.Five others were also injured. Lilong is a Meitei Pangal (Meitei Muslim)-dominated locality.
After the killings, the authorities reimposed curfew in Thoubal, Imphal East and Imphal West districts and shortened its relaxation in Kakching and Bishnupur districts, all of them in the Imphal valley. Senior police officials did not take phone calls but sources said the assailants, who were yet to be identified, swooped down on the area wearing camouflage dresses and opened indiscriminate fire.
The four persons were killed on the spot. The injured were rushed to a hospital. After the attack, enraged locals set ablaze some vehicles which the assailants had apparently used to go to the area. The situation was highly tense when reports last came in.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh condemned the incident. He appealed to the people of Lilong and other areas of the valley to maintain calm. “The police are working to arrest the perpetrators. They will be punished as per the law. I appeal to people, especially those from Lilong, to maintain calm and help the government hunt down the criminals,” Singh said in a video message with folded hands.
This is the first major incident involving the killings of Meitei Pangals since the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis broke out on May 3 after a tribal solidarity march. The violence left some 200 people dead and 60,000 others displaced.