THREE people collecting firewood in a forest were killed allegedly by militants in Manipur on Monday, triggering protests by locals who placed two bodies outside the Chief Minister’s residence here. Three others were also injured as militants opened fire on a group of firewood collectors on the border of Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts, officials said, adding that three more have gone missing. While Arubam Ronil (35) and Lairenlakpam Inaobi (51) died on the spot, Kshetrimayum Sushil (32) succumbed to injuries at a private hospital, an official said. The injured -- N Suraj (19), Meisnam Somendro (53) and K Bosan (45) -- were undergoing treatment. They were among 16 people who had gone to the hills near their village around 7 am to collect firewood when they were ambushed, officials said. Following the demonstration outside his residence, Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh visited the injured undergoing treatment at a private hospital, but did not respond to any media queries. Angry locals brought the bodies to the State capital to protest the violence that has plagued the State since May 2023.

 

They placed the bodies outside the main gate of the Chief Minister’s residence in Babupara. It was not immediately known whether the Chief Minister was at the residence during the protest. Police fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the protesters, following which the bodies were taken to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS). Security has also been tightened around the CM Bungalow and the routes leading to it. Protesters blocked a road at Khurai Lamlong while a group of women staged a demonstration at Ema Keithel in Imphal. Markets and shops across Imphal shuttered following the incident. One dead, several injured in clashes in Thoubal district, prohibitory orders clamped: AT LEAST one person was killed and several others were injured in clashes that broke out between two communities in Manipur’s Thoubal district, police said.

 

District authorities imposed prohibitory orders restricting people from leaving their residences in the two affected areas where a few houses and vehicles were also burnt. Tension began when a group of people allegedly started throwing stones at a nearby ground in Khangabok village, under Thoubal police station and nearly 25 km south of Imphal, where a concert was underway on Sunday night, police said. The incident led to the hurling of stones between members of two communities at Khangabok and Sangaiyumpham and burning of a few houses and vehicles. One person was shot in the head when unidentified miscreants fired. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The deceased has been identified as Laishram Rakesh, police said. Several others were also admitted to the hospital with minor cut injuries after being hit by stones. Additional state and central forces were rushed to the two villages, and the situation is under control on Monday morning, police said. The prohibitory orders issued by district magistrate Thoubal, on Sunday night, said, “There is likelihood of breach of peace, disturbance of public tranquillity, and imminent danger to human life and properties...Because of the unlawful activities of some antisocial elements.”