Woman shot dead outside school in Manipur’s Imphal West
Manipur,July 6 : Just a day after schools were re-opened across Manipur, a woman was allegedly shot dead by unidentified criminals outside a school in Imphal West on Thursday, sources said. Sources in the police said the identity and community of the victim is yet to be identified.
According to sources, the incident took place outside Shishu Nishtha Niketan school. The incident has sparked panic in the area, where schools reopened a day ago.
The shooting comes amid ongoing ethnic clashes in the state that have been raging for over two months. Earlier in the day, security forces disrupted a confrontation in the Kangpokpi district between two armed groups from the Mapao and Awang Sekmai regions, PTI reported.
In another incident of violence, the house of an Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel was set ablaze by a mob in the Thoubal district after he foiled the attempts of rioters to loot firearms from the police armoury, officials said on Wednesday.
The deadly confrontation led to the death of a 27-year-old man, Ronaldo, who was critically injured and later died while being taken to a hospital in Imphal. An additional 10 people suffered injuries during the clash, with six in serious condition receiving treatment at a hospital.
With no signs of violence dying down, The Manipur government on Wednesday said it has extended the suspension of internet services in the state for another five days till 3 pm of July 10 “to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order”. The authorities banned internet services across the northeastern state for the first time on May 3 when clashes between ethnic communities began. It is being extended from time to time.
Violence first broke out in the state after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. So far, more than 100 people have died and several hundred injured, besides thousands taking shelter in relief camps.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribal Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
-The India Today
