SENAPATI, AUG 24: Fresh violence was reported in Taphou and adjoining areas of Senapati district in the early hours of Monday, with multiple houses reportedly burnt or damaged and a CRPF constable injured in subsequent firing.
The first fire incident was reported at around 2:40 am at Taphou Kuki. Police personnel were present near the Senapati district gate when the incident occurred. The fire brigade reached the area at around 3:30 am. According to local accounts, people at the site objected to the firefighters’ arrival.
After 4 am, further incidents were reported around 9MR and Mareimei, where houses belonging to Naga residents were reportedly targeted.
Preliminary information suggests that one house at Taphou Kuki was burnt, while a house belonging to a resident of Lai village, a Poumai Naga settlement, was reportedly demolished. Another house belonging to a resident of Phuba village, also a Poumai Naga settlement, was reportedly burnt.
The situation escalated at around 9:20 am, when firing broke out while journalists were on the ground covering the incident and recording footage of the burnt and damaged houses.
A 54-year-old CRPF constable of 36 CRPF sustained a suspected firearm injury while at Liangmai Taphou. He was taken to District Hospital, Senapati, where he is undergoing treatment.
The injured personnel reportedly said he could not establish the direction from which the bullet was fired, as firing appeared to be coming from both sides.
Meanwhile, the Taphou Kuki Village Authority has condemned the burning of a residential house in Taphou Kuki Village and given a 24-hour deadline to those responsible to claim responsibility and resolve the matter under Kuki customary law.
In a press release issued on August 24, the Village Authority urged the District Administration and police to investigate the incident and identify those responsible. It also appealed for restraint and called on all concerned to resolve grievances through peaceful and lawful means.
The Kuki VA warned that it would not be held responsible for any “untoward incident” if the matter was not resolved within the stipulated 24 hours.
The situation remains tense in and around Taphou, with security forces deployed in the affected areas. The exact circumstances surrounding the firing, the extent of property damage and whether there were additional casualties are yet to be ascertained.
