Key Naga body seeks NIA probe into killing of 4 civilians in Manipur, demands removal of Kuki militants

Imphal, November 14 (IANS): A day after four Naga civilians, including two women, were killed in an attack by armed extremists in Manipur’s Ukhrul district, apex Naga body, Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), on Saturday issued a three-day ultimatum to the Centre and the Manipur government, demanding the removal of Kuki militants from Naga areas.  

Meanwhile, Manipur Deputy Chief Minister and senior Naga leader Losii Dikho, in a separate statement, called for dialogue and reconciliation to find a lasting solution to the state's ongoing ethnic crisis.

At least four people, including a mother and her son, were shot dead in a suspected ambush allegedly carried out by Kuki militants along the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway (NH-2) at New Haven in Ukhrul district on Friday afternoon.

In a statement, the TNL said that the New Haven incident was the fourth such attack at the same location and demanded that the case be immediately handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for investigation.

The ultimatum was issued following an emergency meeting of Tangkhul civil society organisations, which strongly condemned the killing of the four civilians in broad daylight, reportedly just a few metres away from security forces deployed in the area, the statement said.

The TNL held the state and Central governments solely responsible for their alleged failure to protect the lives of innocent civilians.

"We have lost complete faith in the central security forces. Therefore, all the central security forces deployed therein must be immediately withdrawn. Till then, the victims' families have resolved not to claim the bodies,” the statement said.

It further warned that failure to meet its demands would compel the general public to launch an indefinite agitation until justice was delivered.

In his separate statement, Deputy Chief Minister Dikho said that Manipur had endured unimaginable heartbreak following the recent loss of innocent lives along the National Highway and within communities.

"The recent loss of innocent lives along the National Highway and within our communities has left deep wounds that violence and retaliation can never heal," he said.

Dikho observed that hatred and bloodshed had historically led only to destruction, adding that those who chose the path of conflict would ultimately be held accountable for the devastation they caused.

On Friday's attack, police said that the victims were travelling in two separate vehicles when they came under fire from the vicinity of Yaolen village, a Kuki settlement near the incident site. The victims were identified as Kapangkhui R.S. and Haoleia R.S., both residents of Shangshak village, and August Ngalung and Khanmila, both from Tashar village. All four victims, including two women, sustained fatal bullet injuries and died on the spot, the police official said.

Quoting local residents, another police official in Imphal said that the two men and two women were travelling in the two vehicles when the armed assailants opened fire. Bullet marks were also found on the windshields of both vehicles, he added.

Additional security personnel, including Manipur Police, the Border Security Force (BSF), the Army, and the Assam Rifles, have been rushed to the area to reinforce security and prevent further violence. Search operations have also been launched in and around the incident site to trace and apprehend those involved in the attack.