Imphal: A mob stormed a police station in Manipur’s Ukhrul town and looted arms during a clash between two groups, officials said on Thursday.
Three persons were killed and 20 others injured in a gunfight that broke out between two groups on Wednesday.
The violence stemmed from a dispute over cleaning a contested plot of land as part of the ‘Swachhata Abhiyan’ initiative.
The conflict escalated into a gunfight, with members of the Tangkhul Naga community from two different villages engaging in the confrontation. One of the three deceased was a personnel of the Manipur Rifles, an armed force under the state government.
Ten critically injured individuals were referred to a hospital in Imphal, while others received treatment locally.
As the violence unfolded, a group, predominantly composed of youths, attacked the police station.
“The mob decamped with government weapons, but the exact number and types of arms looted are yet to be confirmed,” an official said, adding that unofficial sources claimed the stolen weapons included AK-47 and INSAS rifles.
This incident marks the first instance of a police station being stormed in a Naga-majority area, with previous looting reported from regions dominated by the warring Meitei and Kuki communities.
Prohibitory orders have been imposed under BNSS Section 163, and mobile internet services have been suspended in the town.
Additional security forces were deployed to control the situation, and the
local legislators appealed for peace.