A mob stormed a police station in Manipur's Ukhrul town and looted arms during a clash between two groups, officials said on Thursday.
Three persons were killed and 20 others injured in a gunfight that broke out between two groups on Wednesday over cleaning a disputed land in the town as part of 'Swachhata Abhiyan'. The police station was attacked when the violence was going on.
Prohibitory orders were imposed and mobile internet services were suspended in the town after the clash between two groups of the Naga community. "After violence broke out in Ukhrul town, a mob comprising mostly of youths stormed the police station located at Wino Bazar and decamped with government weapons," an official said.
The number and types of weapons looted cannot be immediately confirmed as an investigation is continuing, he added. Unofficial sources, however, claimed that the looted weapons included AK-47 and INSAS rifles.
Looting of arms was reported from various police stations in the ethnic-strife-torn state earlier, but in all those cases the areas concerned were dominated by either Meities or Kukis, the two warring communities.
This is the first time a police station was stormed in a Naga-majority area, according to a source. "The Ukhrul police station is located a few metres away from an Assam Rifles camp," the official said.
On Wednesday, Additional Director General of Police L. Kailun directed all district SPs and other officers to remain on "high alert" and to ensure proper security for arms and ammunition. It is not clear, however, whether the instruction was given before or after the arms were looted from the police station in Ukhrul district.
On Wednesday, three persons including a Manipur Rifles personnel were killed and more than 20 others were injured in the gunfight between two groups over cleaning a plot of land, police said.
Members of the two sides belong to the Tangkhul Naga community but are residents of different villages. Both lay claim to that land.
One of the three deceased was on-duty personnel of the Manipur Rifles, an armed force under the state government. Ten of the critically injured have been referred to a hospital in Imphal while others are being treated in the Ukhrul district hospital, police said. Additional forces were also rushed to the district to bring the situation under control.
Following the violence, three Tangkhul Naga legislators had appealed to the villagers to maintain peace and "resolve the issue amicably through dialogue." Prohibitory orders under BNSS Section 163 have been imposed in Ukhrul town following the incident and internet services have been suspended.
The northeastern state, affected by ethnic clashes since May 2023, witnessed escalated violence from early last month. More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kukis since May 3 last year.