Four people were shot dead in Manipur's Churachandpur when security forces were carrying out evacuation of Meiteis in the area. Meanwhile, the IRS (Indian Revenue Service) Association said a tax assistant identified as Letminthang Haokip had been killed in Imphal. “No cause or ideology can justify the killing of an innocent public servant on duty,” they tweeted.
This shooting in Churachandpur comes after days of fierce clashes between the state's majority Meitei community and the Kuki tribe, which had also originated in the area on Wednesday. While state capital Imphal has seen Kukis at the receiving end of the violence, the Meiteis have been targeted in areas dominated by hill tribes.
The shooting took place when tribals allegedly tried to intervene in the evacuation of Meiteis from the area.
Muan Hansingh (24), a researcher and resident of Churachandpur, told The Indian Express that unrest in the town began around 7 pm Friday. “Because of the deployment of security personnel, people are not moving out of their homes. Around 7 pm, we got information that Meitei people stranded in the town are going to be evacuated by security personnel. The people (opposed to this evacuation) gathered at the town's main road, Tidim Road to barricade it. We put women at the front of the barricade because we thought that they would not be fired at. But the security opened fire and four people died,” he alleged.
An Assam Rifles official in Imphal said he had received inputs…
