Tensions continue to simmer in conflict-hit Manipur, as two separate incidents of gun violence were reported on June 19, leaving an elderly Meitei farmer injured and a Kuki woman dead.
According to officials, a gun attack took place in the afternoon at Phubala village in Bishnupur district, where a 60-year-old farmer identified as Ningthoujam Biren sustained a bullet injury to his arm.
Biren was working in his paddy field when multiple rounds were allegedly fired from nearby hill ranges bordering Churachandpur district.
“I was working in the fields when I heard five gunshots. One of them hit my arm. We couldn’t even see who fired,” Biren told reporters from his hospital bed in Bishnupur.
Police confirmed the incident and said a probe is underway. Security forces were immediately deployed to the area, and additional reinforcements from state and central forces have been stationed to prevent further flare-ups.
Soon after the Phubala incident, another exchange of fire erupted in Chingphei, Churachandpur district, as security forces launched an area domination operation around 3:30 p.m. During the crossfire, a woman was fatally injured by a stray bullet.
The deceased, identified as Hoikholhing Haokip, was the wife of Khaikhogin Haokip, the village chief of Langchingmanbi.
She was rushed to the Churachandpur District Hospital but succumbed to her injuries, officials confirmed. Civil society groups from the Kuki community have condemned the incident and demanded accountability.
Authorities have not issued an official statement regarding the precise circumstances of her death, but they acknowledged that the situation remains tense in the area.
In the aftermath of the Phubala attack, angry villagers imposed a local bandh, demanding enhanced security for farmers working in sensitive border zones.
These back-to-back incidents come just days after a confrontation between Meitei and Kuki villagers at Leitanpokpi in Imphal East over farmland access, underlining the fragile and volatile nature of the ongoing ethnic conflict that has gripped the state since May 3, 2023.
Following the incident, the civil society organisations on both the Meitei and the Kuki sides have reacted vehemently. The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) had declared a shutdown in Kangpokpi on June 21.
They had called the incident an “attack on the Kuki-Zo community”. Meanwhile, the COCOMI, the apex body representing the Imphal valley have talked about raising the safety of the farmers working in the peripheral area.
“Ningthoujam Biren Singh was shot from point-blank range, barely 30 meters away from the SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) security line.
This act of terror occurred after an outrageous breach through three tiers of security – the BSF (Border Security Force), Army, and SSB – raising serious concerns about the intent, efficiency, and reliability of the current security deployment in the valley,” the COCOMI said in a statement on Saturday (June 21, 2025).
The organisation said farmers living on the periphery of the valley need a protective shield, as they had been under attack from gunmen from their vantage points on the low hills around.
It said declaring a ‘farmer safety zone’ with shoot-at-sight orders would deter armed intruders, especially those carrying assault rifles.
Security agencies have intensified operations to control the law and order situations, which has improved the situation.
Security forces continue to conduct search operations and area domination in the fringe and vulnerable areas of hill and valley districts.
Movement of 231 nos. of vehicles carrying essential items along NH-37 has been ensured.
Strict security measures are taken up in all vulnerable locations, and a security convoy is provided in sensitive stretches in order to ensure free and safe movement of the vehicles.
A total of 112 Nakas/Checkpoints were installed in different districts of Manipur, both in the hills and the valley and 06 persons were detained by Police at the Nakas/Checkpoints.
