Manipur violence: Three mutilated bodies found after gunfight

People from Manipur protest over the ongoing ethnic violence in the state, in Delhi, on Thursday. Pic/PTI

In a fresh round of violence in ethnic strife-torn Manipur, mutilated bodies of three youths were found following heavy gunfire at Kuki Thowai village in Ukhrul district on Friday, officials said. This is the first time that an attack in the recent bout of violence has occurred in Ukhrul district, which is dominated by Tangkhul Nagas.

Early morning gunfiring

Sounds of heavy gunfire were heard from the village, early in the morning, they said. Thereafter, police conducted a thorough search in the surrounding villages and forest areas and found bodies of three youths. They were identified as Jamkhogin Haokip, 26, Thangkhokai Haokip, 35, and Hollenson Baite, 24. Their bodies bore injury marks apparently made using sharp knives and their limbs were also chopped off, officers said.

‘Peace is returning'

The renewed violence comes just three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the nation on Independence Day, declared that peace was returning to Manipur. "In the past few days, there are reports of peace. The nation is with Manipur," he said from the Red Fort in New Delhi. Ethnic clashes broke out in the state on May 3, and more than 150 people have been killed and many women raped and sexually assaulted since.

New assault case in SC

On Friday, the Supreme Court sought response of the Manipur government in another shocking incident where a woman alleged that a mob tore her clothes and paraded her, but police did nothing. The petition said that women, who were part of the mob, hit the survivor's one-year-old baby who suffered fractures in her hands and grave injuries to her head. A bench comprising the CJI listed the matter for hearing on October 13 along with the main matter.

May 3
Day ethnic clashes erupted in Manipur

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