StatesManipur
Kuki-Zo woman killed and a couple missing after ambush in Manipur's Kamjong
Two couples on motorcycles were fired on near Phaikoh on Thursday evening. Kuki groups blame the NSCN-IM; police say only that suspected militants carried out the attack.
Key points
- Hatneikim Haokip was killed on the spot and her husband was wounded.
- A second couple from Chassad village, Paokhothang and Boishi Haokip, are missing.
- The Kuki-Zo Council demanded an immediate and impartial investigation.
A Kuki-Zo woman was killed and her husband wounded when gunmen ambushed two couples on motorcycles in Manipur’s Kamjong district on Thursday evening. The second couple has not been seen since.
The four were riding from their villages towards Phaikoh to buy essential supplies when they were fired on between about 4 pm and 5 pm, between Molnoi and Phaikoh. Hatneikim Haokip of Molnoi died on the spot, police said. Her husband, Jangkhongam Haokip, escaped with bullet wounds. D Paokhothang Haokip and his wife, Boishi Haokip, of Chassad village are missing, and security forces and villagers are searching for them.
Police said the attack was carried out by suspected militants and that details were still being verified. Kuki Inpi Manipur and the Kuki-Zo Council blamed cadres of the NSCN (Isak-Muivah).
In a statement on Friday, the Kuki-Zo Council called for “an immediate and impartial investigation”. It said the killing took to 30 the number of Kuki-Zo civilians it holds the NSCN-IM and the ZUF(K) responsible for, and argued that any review of suspension of operations pacts with Kuki groups should also cover the NSCN-IM ceasefire.
The ambush followed the recovery of the severed head of Ajinbou Ringkamai, 52, one of four Naga men killed in an attack on Makui Ashang village in Kangpokpi district on 10 October, for which suspected Kuki militants were blamed. A joint team of the CRPF and Manipur Police found it near the attack site. The Naga body Joint Tribes Council Manipur had given a 48-hour ultimatum for its return, and post-mortems went ahead at JNIMS in Imphal on Thursday.