Two Naga villages attacked in Manipur

IMPHAL, OCT 18 (NPN): In the escalating violence in Kamjong district, two Tangkhul (Naga) villages – Skipe and Pilong – located near the Indo-Myanmar border in Kamjong district came under heavy attack, and several houses were set ablaze by armed miscreants suspected to be Kuki militants.
Reports received in Imphal said that the suspected militants set fire abandoned houses around 4 am on Sunday.
The villages having around 30 houses was almost deserted after the residents fled their homesteads following persisting threats after a deadly attack earlier on September 24 at Pilong village that had claimed lives of four villagers including father and son.
Skipe village is located around four km from Pilong toward the Indo-Myanmar border. It may be noted that the residents fled after an alleged cross-border attack in late September.
No casualties were reported during Sunday’s arson incident.
Meanwhile, three more villagers were injured in gun clashes in the Chassad area of the district that continued till late last night.
The gun clash in the area erupted Saturday afternoon, around 2.30 pm that resulted in the death if one person while leaving four others, including two village chiefs, with bullet injuries.
The three injured persons – T Chithung of Ningchou, S Malung and M Shithung of Bungpa Khullen were admitted at Kamjong district hospital at the district headquarters, reports said,
Meanwhile, an official report said that as many as 15 houses belonging to the Kuki tribe were burnt in a further attack on a village in Chassad area late on Saturday night.
The attack also forced the residents of the village to flee their homes and seek shelter in nearby forest areas and an Army camp.
In a statement issued on Saturday night, the state police said that a joint column of Assam Rifles, Border Security Force (BSF) and Kamjong police had been deployed in the affected area to bring the situation under control.
In another unrelated incident, a couple sustained injuries when suspected militants ambushed a civilian vehicle along NH-202 (Imphal-Ukhrul Road) at Mahadev today, around 11.40 am.
Sources said that six adults and a child were travelling in the vehicle (Maruti Baleno) that came under heavy firing.
The two injured were Dilip Dahal (34) and his wife Bipana Dahal, both of whom were Nepali (Gorkhali). They sustained minor injuries; the source added.
In the fallout of the escalating violence, the Superintendent of Police of Kamjong district has been transferred. A government order issued on Sunday affected the transfer of SP of Kamjong where large scale violence involving fatality and arson of houses were reported in the last two days.
The order issued by state department of personnel and administrative reforms transferred SP (in-charge) Tholu Rocky from his present posting place from Kamjong district with immediate effect.
He has been given a new assignment as in-charge of additional director of Manipur Police Training College, Imphal.
IPS officer Jay Barrage who served as additional SP (law and order) Imphal West has been posted as the new SP of Kamjong.
The transfer that came amid the escalating violence in the district bordering Myanmar triggered a protest from the residents of Kamjong district.
After news of the latest transfer, a large number of women from the Naga tribe came onto the streets at Kamjong district headquarters in the evening on Sunday and protested against the transfer of Rocky Tholu.
The protesters alleged that the transfer of the SP (Rocky Tholu) was done on the request by a Kuki MLA to the chief minister and state home minister.
Some Naga based civil society also condemned the government order transferring Rocky Tholu, alleging it as “character assassination” of the senior officer belonging to Poumai Naga tribe.