IMPHAL: At least nine individuals, including two Manipur police personnel and a woman, sustained gunshot wounds in a firing incident by armed miscreants in Kangchup foothills of Kangpokpi district on Tuesday.
Seven of the injured individuals have been admitted to RIMS (Regional Institute of Medical Sciences), while two others are receiving treatment at Raj Medicity in Imphal, according to a national news agency.
According to reports in the local press, unidentified assailants opened fire on a group of people who had ventured into the area to investigate the presence of unknown individuals from a different community.
It unfolded when a large group of people from Phayeng village, concerned about the presence of five unknown individuals in the Meitei area, had gone to Kangchup hillside to ascertain their intentions.
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However, as they approached the location, suspected militants located in the hills began firing at them.
The situation escalated rapidly, prompting village volunteers and security forces to rush to the scene, resulting in a heavy exchange of gunfire between the two parties.
“While the firing has ceased in the Kangchup area, additional security personnel have been deployed in the region to maintain peace and security,” a police official was quoted by a national news agency.
Meanwhile, four individuals who had strayed into the Meitei area remain missing, with one found by security forces in a critically injured state, as reported by the police. Security personnel are currently conducting operations to locate the missing individuals.
In a separate incident, armed individuals carried out an attack in Koutruk in Imphal West district. Police, however, have provided limited details regarding this incident, and further information is awaited.
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Tension continues to grip the Imphal valley as the search for two missing teenagers, who disappeared on the afternoon of November 5 in the Sekmai area near Kangpokpi district, intensifies.
Police have recovered the phones of the missing teenagers, which were wrapped in a black polythene packet, from an oil pump in Senapati district, raising concerns and questions about their whereabouts.
The situation in Kangchup and the surrounding areas remains tense, with security forces on high alert as they work to restore calm and investigate the series of incidents that have left the local community on the edge.
