NEW DELHI: A Kuki woman was killed and another person injured in a gunfight between suspected rival militant groups in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Thursday, officials said.The exchange of fire broke out around 11 am in an area between Taphou Kuki village in Kangpokpi district and Kailengjang in neighbouring Senapati district.Following the gunfight, a woman from Taphou Kuki village, who was working in a nearby field, was found shot dead. The victim, identified as Nengboi Chonglo, was reportedly holding a sickle when she was found.Her body was subsequently recovered by local residents and security personnel.The injured person, a man, was rushed to a private hospital in Kangpokpi district.The incident comes days after two Kuki youths, who went missing from the vicinity of Taphou Kuki village on October 28, were found dead in Senapati district on November 1.
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The killings triggered protests by the Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), which staged a sit-in demonstration at the district headquarters over what it termed an “unsatisfactory response to the organisation’s charter of demands” concerning the abduction and killing of the two youths.COTU has demanded that Taphou Kuki village be brought under the jurisdiction of Kangpokpi district police instead of the Senapati district police station, which currently exercises jurisdiction over the area.According to Manipur Police ADGP (Law and Order) Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo, the state government was considering transferring the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).“The Manipur government’s proposal to hand over the case to the NIA is at an advanced stage, and necessary orders are awaited,” he had said on Tuesday.The ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities, which erupted in Manipur in May 2023, continues, having claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands of people.(With PTI inputs)
