Nearly 100 abandoned houses, including that of a Congress MLA, were set on fire by suspected Kuki militants in Manipur’s Kakching district on Sunday, The New Indian Express reported.
The northeastern state has witnessed ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kukis since May 3 that have left at least 98 persons dead, over 300 injured and thousands displaced.
On Sunday, a person was also injured in the district’s Sugnu area in a firing incident, according to the police, reported The Indian Express. The area had witnessed large-scale violence, including incidents of firing and burning of houses, on May 28.
“When the rest of the state was burning, Sugnu was the only place where both Kukis and Meitei were living peacefully,” said Chanthoi, a woman leader from the area, according to The Indian Express. “This was possible because a peace committee was formed and both sides agreed to restrain themselves, until suspected Kuki militants attacked villages in our area on May 28.”
Congress MLA K Ranjit was in Sugnu, along with three other Bharatiya Janata Party legislators, when his house was set ablaze.
The violence in Kakching district came on the day when the Centre appointed Ajai Lamba, the former chief justice of the Gauhati High Court, as the head of a three-member committee that will investigate the violence in Manipur.