GUWAHATI: After weeks of relative calm, violence erupted again in Manipur on Friday when unknown miscreants opened fire from a hill range at Kongba Maru, a sacred site of the Meiteis in Imphal East district, near the Kangpokpi district.
A group of devotees, escorted by a combined team of the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), had gone to the site for worship. Shots were fired while they were at the premises, but no casualties were reported.
K Rajen, one of the devotees present, recounted the incident to the media.
“We, around 25 devotees, reached the temple site at 8 am and started cleaning the premises. After a while, when we were worshipping, the Kuki militants started firing from the hilltop," he said.
"Around 7-8 rounds were fired despite the presence of security personnel,” he added.
Expressing frustration over the security situation, Rajen demanded immediate action.
“We are proud of the governor (Ajay Kumar Bhalla) who has taken some very good initiatives, but he has failed in the hill areas. If he is sincere enough, then he has to take steps to dismantle the Kuki bunkers in the hills or anywhere in Manipur. We want action in two days,” he said.
Following the incident, residents of nearby villages staged a protest by blocking a road. Additional security personnel were deployed to the area to prevent further escalation.
Earlier in the day, a joint team of Kangpokpi district police and CRPF arrested four suspected insurgents in connection with the ongoing violence.