A mob took away around 21 firearms and 900 rounds of assorted ammunition from the armoury of Ukhrul police station in Manipur in a raid coinciding with Wednesday’s gunfight 3km away involving two Naga villages, officials revealed Thursday as the death toll in the violence rose to four.
While cops are still to report the number of weapons the mob snatched, sources said the loot included six INSAS rifles, three AK-47s, eight 9mm pistols, two 9mm carbines, an SLR and a Sten gun.
With one more death, Manipur violence toll mounts to four
The looting frenzy harked back to the peak of the ethnic conflict in the state last year, when mobs barged into several state armouries and took away hundreds of firearms.
Army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi said in New Delhi earlier this week that those episodes contributed to Manipur’s society getting “weaponised” and feeding the flames of the conflict. Around 25% of the 4,000-odd weapons lost to looters have since been recovered, he said.
The gunfight around which the latest instance of looting occurred was apparently over the choice of a disputed site for a Swachh Bharat Mission-linked programme. A member of Manipur Rifles was among the three casualties in the firing.
Y R Pamreiyo, one of those critically wounded, died at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal early Thursday. The first three victims were civilians Reileiwung Hongray and Silas Zingkhai, and Worrinmi Thumra of Manipur Rifles.
The conflict involved villagers of Hunphun and Hungpung, both inhabited by the Naga community.
Chief minister N Biren Singh said the administration was disbursing financial assistance to the families that lost a member each in the fighting. He sought support from organisations representing the community in fostering peace and preventing further violence.
Internet and mobile data services remained suspended in Ukhrul town on Thursday, while indefinite curfew was in force in the “neutral zone” between Thingrasa and Ngapaha.