Imphal: Three villagers, including two women, were killed and four others injured after suspected militants opened fire at a Kuki village in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Monday morning.Police said the incident took place at Teikhang Kuki village along the IT Road around 8 am.The deceased were identified as Tingneichin Lhouvum (40), Hoineineng Lhoujem (21) and Lamtinthang Lhoujem (36).Sources said some houses in the village were also set ablaze.The Twilang Area Kuki CSO coordinating committee alleged that cadres of the NSCN-IM and ZUF-K were behind the attack. The committee claimed that around 50 armed cadres fired several rounds at the village and subsequently set some houses on fire.Condemning the incident, the committee, in a statement, said the “deliberate killing of innocent civilians, particularly unarmed women, and the burning of their homes constitute acts of extreme cowardice, savagery and moral bankruptcy”.“The involvement of the NSCN-IM and ZUF-K must be investigated immediately, independently and impartially. Those responsible must be immediately identified, arrested and prosecuted under the appropriate provisions of law,” it said.The Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), Twilang Block, Sadar Hills, also condemned the attack, alleging that armed cadres led by the NSCN-IM targeted civilians, killing three people and injuring four others.The KSO demanded that the Union home ministry take steps to apprehend those responsible and sought increased deployment of central forces around Teikhang village.“Additionally, the state must immediately provide emergency medical care for the critically injured, along with comprehensive financial relief and reconstruction aid for the families of the deceased and those whose homes were destroyed,” the KSO said in a statement.Monday’s attack came four days after four Naga villagers were killed in an ambush allegedly carried out by Kuki militants along the IT Road in Kangpokpi district.
