Kuki militants continued attacking Meitei villages in Jiribam district, Manipur for the second day after killing a senior citizen at Ningthem khunou Nungchappi village in the wee hours of Saturday.
Kuki militants started bombing and firing at Mongbung Meitei Khul under Jiribam Police Station around 4.45 am Sunday, as per sources. The village volunteers reticulated to the attack, resulting in gunfire but no casualties were reported.
The Kuki militants resumed attacking Mongbung Meitei Khul with bombs and firing around 4.30 pm. The village volunteers are also returning fire, sources said.
Earlier on Saturday morning, a 63-year-old was killed in an attack by Kuki militants at Ningthem Khunou Nungseppi under Jiribam Police Station in Jiribam district, after which village volunteers killed four Kuki militants in retaliatory action while another village volunteer died in the crossfire.
Immediately on receiving information that the man had been killed, the village volunteers traced the assailants and confronted them at Champanagar Rashidpur Hills.
In an exchange of gunfire, at least four Kuki militants and one village volunteer were killed. The village volunteers seized one SLR, one AK-56, one A-1 assault rifle, and an INSAS rifle.
Meanwhile, additional director general of Police (Administration) K Jayenta, told the media in Imphal on Saturday that Jiribam district police also rushed to the spot but they were also attacked by the armed miscreants. The district police retaliated with heavy gunfire and managed to control the situation.
The ADGP said the state police have also deployed anti-drone weapons in border areas and appealed to the public to cooperate in maintaining law and order.
He further said senior officers are on the ground and closely monitoring the security situation. Deployment of anti-drone systems to repel the ‘Rogue Drones,’ surveillance and patrolling by army helicopters, and the addition of more forces in vulnerable fringe areas have been undertaken.
The social media monitoring cell of the police department is also checking for instigators of violence, while strong NAKAs in sensitive areas of the Imphal valley and hills have been installed to prevent the movement of armed miscreants, he said.
The ADGP said search operations in suspected areas in the hills and valley are ongoing to prevent long-range rocket attacks. Combing operations, along with central security forces, are continuing in fringe areas of Kangpokpi-Imphal West, Bishnupur-Kangpokpi, Bishnupur-Churachandpur, and Imphal East-Kangpokpi with the aim of preventing attacks by miscreants.
Meanwhile, it has been learnt that locals heard gunshots being fired at Zoujangtek area at Bishnupur. The police have not received any concrete reports of the incident.
