Four persons, including a state police commando, were killed in clashes in Manipur's Bishnupur district on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.
Manipur has been in the grips of ethnic violence since May 3 when the tribals took out a 'Tribal Solidarity March' against the proposed scheduled tribes (ST) status to the state's Meitei community. In the violence since then, over 120 have been killed and several thousands have been pushed to stay in relief camps.
This is the second time in the past one week that deaths have been reported in Bishnupur. Last Saturday night, three 'village volunteers' were killed while on guard duty in Bishnupur's Khoijumantabi village.
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What do we know of fresh deaths in Bishnupur?
The four deaths took place in Kangvai area of Bishnupur district in gunfights between two communities.
The two sides live in close proximity there and the security forces have created a buffer zone. But the two communities still got into gunfights on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday and four people were killed, said officials to PTI.
"Last night, an attempt was made by mobs from the hillside to come down and burn some villages in the valley. These mobs had gathered from outside the area and did not yield to the request of locals to go back, they said. The security forces responded in a calibrated manner and prevented them from torching any house. However, some people from both sides indulged in firing at each other from standoff ranges from villages of Kangvai, Songdo and Awang Lekhai which resulted in death of three persons besides injuries on both sides," reported PTI.
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Officials told PTI that although the firing ceased during the early hours of Friday, mobs on the valley side continued to block movement of security forces for reinforcing the area. The officials added that senior officers have been working round the clock to restore peace in the area by engaging both communities.
Though the gunfights stopped by Friday morning, intermittent firing continued through the day and the police commando died during such firing on Friday, officials told PTI.
Besides the police commando, the four deceased involved a teenager who died while seeking cover.
Following the latest round of violence, irate locals, mostly women, hit the streets in Moirang to vent out their anger against the firing, according to PTI.
