CRPF jawan injured, houses set ablaze in Manipur

Several houses were set ablaze and a CRPF jawan was later injured in a gunfight between two groups in Manipur’s Senapati district on Monday, police said. According to a senior officer, houses were set ablaze after miscreants torched a house in Taphou Kuki village in Kangpokpi district around 2:30 am.

“Following the incident of arson in Kangpokpi, several houses were burnt at Naga Taphou in Senapati district at 4 am. A CRPF personnel was injured in a gunfight between two groups in Taphou Naga area around 9:20 am. He has been admitted to the Senapati district hospital and is now out of danger,” the officer told PTI.

He further stated that security had been strengthened in the area to control the situation. The incidents of arson in Senapati triggered protests, with locals gathering at Senapati Gate and burning logs and tyres on National Highway 2, affecting the movement of vehicles. The Taphou Kuki Village Authority, in a statement, strongly condemned the loss of property and demanded that the culprits be identified within 24 hours. More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities since May 2023.