Guwahati: A 36-year-old electric lineman was killed in a pre-dawn attack on Kuki settlements along Manipur’s IT Road corridor in Kangpokpi district on Wednesday, as several Naga villages along the Noney-Kangpokpi-Senapati borders also came under attack, escalating tensions between the two communities.The victim, Paokhongam Chongloi of Wakotphai village, was reportedly on duty repairing damaged power lines when firing broke out at Lasan and Songpibung villages around 4 am. Local organisations alleged that Naga militants carried out the attack, firing towards civilian areas and forcing residents, including women, children and elderly people, to flee.The Twilang Area Local Electricity Management Committee said Chongloi had gone to Lasan on Tuesday to repair faults in a power line and was scheduled to return on Wednesday. “Due to heavy attack on Lasan and Songpibung Villages in the early morning around 4 am, he sustained bullet injuries and succumbed to his injuries while on duty,” the committee said in a statement.The committee said no official lineman had been posted in the Twilang area since the outbreak of the Meitei-Kuki ethnic conflict in Manipur on May 3, 2023. Civil society organisations of the area later appointed Chongloi as a lineman in 2024 to address residents’ power-related problems, it said.“Ever since his appointment, he had been discharging his duties with utmost sincerity, dedication and commitment, even risking his life to restore power supply along the IT Road corridor,” the committee said.It demanded an immediate investigation, the arrest of those responsible, enhanced security for civilians and frontline workers and adequate ex gratia compensation for Chongloi’s family.The Committee on Tribal Unity said Chongloi’s body will not be claimed until those responsible for his death are brought to justice.The Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), Twilang Block, also condemned what it described as a “pre-planned attack”, saying Chongloi had no links with any group. The KSO unit said power supply was disrupted while villagers fled, but Chongloi stayed behind to restore electricity. The student body, in a statement, said that unable to return safely, he took shelter at Lasan but was killed.The KSO demanded the immediate deployment of adequate security forces in Songpibung and Lasan to prevent further attacks and protect civilians.Meanwhile, armed Kuki militants allegedly attacked around five Naga villages along the Noney-Kangpokpi-Senapati district boundaries early Wednesday.The attack began around 5 am with heavy gunfire and reportedly targeted Makui Chamriupiu, Langka and Thanamba villages in Kangpokpi district, and Tazeikaiphun Part 3 and Kapningching Mukti Part 5 in Noney district. Local village authorities said homes were set on fire, forcing residents to flee into nearby forests.
