Imphal: Fresh incidents of violence have been reported from various parts of Bishnupur District today. Suspected Kuki militants allegedly open fired at farmers who were working in paddy fields in Naranseina Maning Loubuk, a Meitei village on Tuesday morning.
As a result of the attack, a 38-year-old farmer named Salam Jotin sustained a bullet injury to his chest. He was immediately taken to Raj-Medicity for medical treatment. State security forces and village volunteers mobilized to engage with the suspected Kuki militants in the western side of Naranseina Maning Loubuk.
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Further reports indicated that a total of 9 individuals sustained injuries in the ongoing violence, and tragically, one person lost his life. Additional instances of firing were also reported from locations such as Phubala Maning and Thamnapoki in Bishnupur District.
It is also reported that one suspected Kuki militant at Songdo Village, located opposite to Naranseina also sustained injuries and later succumbed to his injuries at District Hospital Churachandpur. The situation remains fluid and updates are being monitored closely.
In response to the attack upon a farmer by suspected Kuki militants in Naranseina, five farmer organizations in the state criticized the government for failing to protect farmers while they are engaged in agricultural activities, despite the claims of enhanced security measures and the establishment of a State Level Monitoring Committee to ensure safe agricultural operations in vulnerable areas.
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The farmer organizations expressed their dissatisfaction with the functioning of the Monitoring Committee formed by the Agriculture Commissioner of the Government of Manipur. The committee was created to address the demands of various farmer bodies and prevent food shortage during the ongoing crisis.
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Briefing media at Manipur Press Club today, LOUSAL President, Mutum Churamani, emphasized that despite the efforts of farmer bodies, a significant portion of paddy fields remained unsafe for farming due to violence. He urged civil society organizations in the state to advocate for intervention from central leaders to prevent further attacks on farmers by Kuki miscreants. The situation remains tense in parts of the valley till the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, womenfolk of Naranseina and its adjoining areas protested against central security forces deployed in the area for not taking initiative to prevent the armed miscreants from attacking the farmers working in their paddy fields. They alleged that the central security forces deployed at the ‘buffer zone’ area remained as silent spectators even as the armed miscreants from the hill side launched the attack by crossing the ‘buffer zone’.
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