Jiribam district in Manipur has been gripped by a spate of targeted terror attacks, with Kuki militants launching unprovoked firings and arson attacks in various areas of the district.
Shortly after the unprecedented attack at Borobekra Police Station on early Saturday morning, Kuki militants torched two farm houses supposedly owned by Meiteis.
According to sources, the incident reportedly occurred in the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, roughly around midnight. The farm houses were located in Nungkhal area, which is 12 km away from Jiribam Police Station at Tipaimukh Road.
The farm houses were owned by Pradhan of Hill Ghat Gram Panchayat, L Somorendro, alias Puchung. It is said that the farm houses were used for Rubber processing. All equipment and machineries used for the same have been completely destroyed in the fire, sources added.
Meanwhile, the recent spate of terror attacks in Jiribam District, which is the lifeline of the Meitei community, have heightened suspicion that the Kuki militants are launching deliberate attacks to seize the district by any means.
The attack came after unknown miscreants allegedly torched a children’s school at Kalinagar in Jiribam district on Friday.
According to sources, the miscreants allegedly set ablaze the Blooming Flower Children Foundation School located under the jurisdiction of Jiribam Police Station at Kalinagar Part-2 in the wee hours of Friday. Jiribam Police Station registered a case regarding the incident.
On Saturday, amid peace talks initiated by legislators from the Meitei, Kuki-Zo-Hmar, and Naga communities to restore peace, fresh gunfire erupted in the district. Three houses in a Meitei village were damaged using explosives.
Police reported that the gunfight broke out around 5:30 AM after suspected Kuki militants launched an attack on the Borobekera police station. The attack involved the use of sophisticated firearms and bombs. A heavy exchange of fire is currently underway between the armed militants and a combined team of Manipur and central forces.
It may be recalled that Jiribam district, which remained largely untouched by the conflict which broke out last year, witnessed violence after a farmer was beheaded by Kuki militants in June this year.
Around a thousand fled their homes after their houses were torched. A CRPF jawan was also killed in an ambush by Kuki militants in July.
In August, representatives of Meitei and Hmar communities reached an agreement to restore normalcy in Jiribam district. Representatives of Thadou, Paite and Mizo communities of Jiribam district were also present in the meeting.
However, the agreement was violated within 24 hours after shots were fired and an abandoned house was torched in the district Jiribam, triggering fresh tensions.
However, during the recent session of the Manipur Legislative Assembly chief minister N Biren Singh stated that peace talks between Meetei and Hmar civil society organisations (CSOs) in Jiribam district had been successful and normalcy being restored in the district.
In September, Kuki militants set ablaze a house belonging to a former officer in charge of Borobekra Police Station in Jiribam. A 63-year-old was also 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 on September 7.
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 in the gunfire. The village volunteers seized one SLR, one AK-56, one A-1 assault rifle, and an INSAS rifle.
Police Control Room, Manipur Police had stated that four persons killed in retaliation after the killing of a senior citizen were identified, of which three turned out to be Kuki militants who had traveled from Churachandpur district.
Kuki militants continued attacking Meitei villages in Jiribam district on the second day after killing the senior citizen.
On September 28, Kuki militants opened fire on Mongbung Meitei Village in Jiribam district using advanced weaponry. As per sources, security forces and village volunteers also retaliated to the attack, leading to a fierce exchange of gunfire.