Imphal: Three men collecting firewood were shot dead in the hills near the Imphal East–Kangpokpi border on Monday morning, in an attack police blamed on unidentified militants. Three others were injured, and three more were reported missing.
The men, all from the Meitei community, were part of a group of villagers — police put the number at 14 — who had gone to the Sunurok hills under Sagolmang police station to cut and carry firewood. The shooting began around 9.40 am, officials said.
"Three individuals died in the incident while three more sustained injuries and they are now under medical care," ADGP (Law and Order) Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo told reporters.
The dead were identified as Arubam Ronil (35), Lairenlakpam Inaobi and Kshetrimayum Sushil (32). The injured were taken to a private hospital in Imphal.
The attack triggered protests in the capital. Villagers brought two of the bodies to Imphal and placed them outside the main gate of the chief minister's residence in Babupara. Police fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the crowd, after which the bodies were taken to hospital. Protesters blocked a road at Khurai Lamlong, women demonstrated at the Ema Keithel market, and shops across Imphal shut.
Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh condemned "the killing of innocent civilians by armed miscreants at Nongshum in Imphal East", according to an official statement. He chaired a security review meeting with Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam, the chief secretary, security adviser, DGP and officers of the Army, Assam Rifles, CRPF and BSF, and directed officials to strengthen security in vulnerable areas. He later met NDA MLAs, who, he said in a post on X, "unanimously condemned the killings in the strongest terms" and demanded that the perpetrators be arrested immediately. Singh also visited the injured and said the government would bear their medical expenses.
Security forces launched a combing operation in the Sunurok hills, with police, CRPF, CoBRA, Assam Rifles and BSF personnel, using sniffer dogs, drones and a helicopter for surveillance. Mobile checkposts were set up. Lhatoo appealed to the public to stay calm and said strict action would be taken.
Meitei groups, including the Meitei Heritage Society and COCOMI, blamed "Kuki militants" and demanded action; a Kuki-Zo body, the Khamenlok Area Core Committee, condemned the violence and warned against pinning blame on the community. The claims could not be independently verified.
The killing came a day after a clash between two communities in Thoubal district left one man dead and several injured, prompting prohibitory orders.