Kuki militants set ablaze a farmhouse in Haraothel Chingkhong (Tanglon) under the jurisdiction of Lamshang Police Station, Imphal West during the wee hours of Friday.
The militants also fired numerous rounds of bullets at the farmhouse which belongs to one Heisnam Rajen, 64 of Chirang Maning Leikai. The farmhouse was partially burned down by Kuki militants in May 2023 when the violence erupted in the state.
The Kuki militants fled to the nearby hills after the 6th IRB personnel stationed at Chirang Water Supply (Helipad) retaliated to their attack. Reports said that there is also an Assam Rifles post near the farmhouse.
As per the villagers, it is believed that the militants might have come down to the farmhouse as their food supplies have exhausted.
Meanwhile, in a protest against perceived negligence by central forces over repeated attacks by Kuki militants, women in Senjam Chirang village staged a sit-in demanding immediate substitution of central forces deployed in the area with any state forces.
It is reported that Kuki militants targeted Senjam Chirang on Friday at around 1 am setting ablaze a poultry farm. Village volunteers retaliated, engaging in a fierce exchange of gunfire that persisted until 3.30 am, as per report.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the response of deployed central forces, H (o) Ambrapati, secretary of Senjam Chirang Kangu Leima Chanura Marup accused Assam Rifles and CRPF of failing to effectively counter the Kuki militants.
She criticised their apparent unawareness of the attack by the Assam Rifle and withholding counter attack by the CRPF, leaving the village volunteers with few license guns to defend the village themselves.
“Such act of the central forces seems to look like the are indirectly supporting the Kuki militants, even if they are not,” she said.
In this regard, Ambrapati urged the chief minister and relevant authorities to address the concerns raised by the community.
She demanded the immediate replacement of central forces with state forces and the establishment of a police outpost in the vulnerable village.
Highlighting the persistent threat posed by Kuki militant attacks, Ambrapati emphasised the village’s vulnerability, with casualties reported since the onset of the ongoing unrest.
The villagers remain apprehensive, fearing a recurrence of attacks in the future, she said, calling for urgent need for decisive action to safeguard their lives and property, as tensions escalate amid central forces’ inaction.
