GUWAHATI: Five persons were killed in Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts of Manipur in incidents of fresh violence in the northeastern state taking the tool to 187. 

According to reports among those killed were three Meitei men who were hacked to death inside their homes by a mob of Kuki-Zos as confirmed by Bishnupur Deputy Commissioner Lourembam Bikram, while two Kuki village guards were killed in gunfire confirmed Churachandpur police superintendent.

Local witnesses said that among the three Meitie villagers killed when suspected militants raided Ukha Tampak village near Kwakta in Bishnupur around 2 am included a father-son duo, early Saturday morning.  

Notably, the incident has taken place in the valley despite the fact that it has been secured by central security forces, and people have started to question them. BJP MLA from the Sagolband constituency in Imphal West District, Rajkumar Imo Singh has hit out at central security forces. 

Singh, who is also the son-in-law of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, said despite the presence of a massive number of paramilitary personnel, the militants from other districts came to the village and brutally killed the three people. He said that the need of the hour was disarming of ‘insurgent groups’, ‘so-called foreign militia’ to curb the ongoing violence in the state.

Earlier on Friday a mob had broken into a police armoury and stole weapons, including assault rifles, MP-5 guns, 16 9mm pistols, 25 bulletproof jackets, 21 carbines, 124 hand grenades and over 19,000 bullets of various calibres at the headquarters of the 2nd India Reserve Battalion (IRB) located at Naranseina in Bishnupur district.

The northeastern state has been badly hit due to ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities, following the Meitei's demand for Scheduled Tribes (ST) status.