Rocket attack on former Manipur CM's house: 1 killed, 5 injured; Kuki militants launched second attack in a day in Bishnupur district

Kuki terrorists attacked the house of former Manipur Chief Minister Merembam Koireng with a rocket bomb at 3 pm on Friday. An old man was killed in this attack, while 5 people were injured. Congress leader Merembam Koireng was the first Chief Minister of the state. He was the Chief Minister of Manipur from 1963 to 1967, for 200 days in 1967 and three times in 1968. He died on 27 December 1994. According to the police, Kuki militants attacked Moirang with rocket bombs from about 4 kilometers from the hill. The elderly man who died during the attack was preparing for a religious event. On Friday morning, a rocket bomb attack took place in Tronglaobi area, 4 km from Moirang in Bishnupur district. In which two buildings were damaged. This is the first time a gun-bomb attack has taken place in Moirang. Two drone attacks took place between September 1 and 3, killing 1. Manipur was also the first drone strike since violence erupted in March last year. On September 3, militants carried out a drone attack in Sejam Chirang village in Imphal district, injuring three people, including a woman. On September 1, a drone attack also took place in the village of Kotruk, killing 2 people and injuring 9. It is feared that Kuki militants are receiving technical support and training from Myanmar for drone warfare. The Manipur government has constituted a high-level committee to investigate these drone attacks. Anti-drone machine gun will be used for the first time in Manipur, approval to the center The central government has approved the use of anti-drone medium machine gun in Manipur for the first time. The decision has been taken following two drone attacks in the state between September 1 and 3. Since March 2023, violence has been going on between the Kuki and Meitei communities in the state. DGP said – 198 companies of security forces from the center are present in the hilly areas, Manipur DGP Rajeev Singh said that the drone attack is a new phenomenon. We are taking this very seriously. We have spoken to the Director General (DG) of NSG and his team in Delhi. Many other experts are also coming. We have also formed a committee to investigate and prevent drone attacks. Singh also said that we have some measures to stop them, which we are trying to implement. Apart from this, our operations are continuing in the hilly areas where the attacks have taken place. We are also getting full support from the Center in this matter. About 198 companies of central forces are present here. All 17 families of village fled after drone attack Kautruk village of Imphal West district is in fear after drone attack. All 17 families here have fled the village. To save their lives, everyone has left their homes to safer places like Imphal, Khurkhul and Sekmai. There is an atmosphere of fear among people. They fear that large-scale violence may erupt once again. Priyakumar, who lives in Kautruk, said that till now there is no proper security system in the village, due to which everyone has left the village in fear. Meanwhile, students from Kautruk and surrounding areas fear that the college may be closed again due to the outbreak of violence. Kuki-Jo organizations demand Kukiland in Manipur On 31 August, Kuki-Jo community members took out rallies in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Tengnopal in Manipur. These organizations demand that a separate Kukiland be created in Manipur, which should be a union territory. These organizations say that the only way to get the state out of caste strife is to create a union territory with a legislature on the lines of Puducherry. However, the Manipur government says that the Chief Minister's voice has been tampered with in the audio clip. This is being done to derail the peace initiative in the violence-hit state. Over 200 killed in ongoing violence since May 2023 Violence has been ongoing in Manipur since May 3, 2023 between the Kuki and Maitei communities over reservation. According to government figures, 226 people have died so far due to violence. While more than 1100 people have been injured. More than 65 thousand people have left their homes.

Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).