Jawan hurt in gunfight as militants open fire on farmers

GUWAHATI: Gunfire and explosions targeting farmers in Imphal East and a cluster of homes in Jiribam kept Manipur on the edge Sunday, with security agencies blaming militants suspected to be from the hills for the renewed spate of attacks in which a woman was allegedly raped and burned alive four nights ago and another was shot dead Saturday in a paddy field.

A soldier was wounded in a gunfight with militants near Thamnapokpi in Imphal East after they attacked farmers harvesting crops with rocket-propelled grenades. Thamnapokpi and Sanasabi had spent a sleepless night amid the sporadic rat-a-tat of automatic weapons, sources said. The assault resumed around 10am, this time directed at farmers who had braved the possibility of violence to work in their fields. The casualty in Saturday’s firing was a woman harvesting paddy in nearby Bishnupur district.

In Jiribam, bordering south Assam, the militant offensive was focused on a swathe of villages from Jarolpokpi to Mongbung Meitei. No casualty was reported. Security forces seized arms and ammunition, including INSAS rifles, pistols, and country-made guns, during operations in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur and Jiribam.