GUWAHATI: Two Tamils were shot dead in Myanmar on Tuesday, triggering unrest in the border town of Moreh in Manipur. The incident occurred at Tamu, 4 km away from Moreh, at around 12:30 pm.
The deceased were identified as P Mohan (28), son of the late Perumal, of ward No 2 and M Iyarnar (35), son of Murga, of ward No 4, Moreh. Mohan was an auto-rickshaw driver who got married on June 9 this year while Pyanar ran a small shop.
The Tamil Sangam in Moreh suspected that the duo was gunned down by the Myanmar Army given some recent killings where it was allegedly involved.
“They entered Myanmar unexpectedly. The Myanmar Army might have suspected them to be spies and shot them dead. There is a killing every day by the Army in this part of Myanmar,” the Tamil Sangam said.
“According to the MHA guidelines, the international border is closed as the situation in Myanmar is tense after the coup by the military in that country. But as it is a porous border, people from both sides cross it over for trade, livelihood and other reasons. Unfortunately, this incident happened,” the Tamil Sangam said.
It added that the two were innocent, born and brought up in Moreh. The Manipur police said they were trying to find out why the duo had entered Myanmar.
The bodies were at a hospital in Myanmar. Bringing them entails a diplomatic process but the Tamil Sangam said it was trying to facilitate it at the local level.
Tension ran high in Moreh when the news about the killings broke. A bandh-like situation prevailed after the sudden closure of shops, commercial establishments, hotels etc. The police beefed up security apprehending trouble.
The Tamils have a population of 3,000 in Moreh. They and their forefathers had migrated to the place from Yangon in Myanmar in the 1960s.