GUWAHATI: Within 48 hours after a tribal woman, a mother of three, was immolated by armed miscreants in Manipur's Jiribam district on Thursday night, another woman was gunned down by suspected hill-based militants in Bishnupur district on Saturday.
The woman was working with other farmers, while harvesting paddy, when suspected militants opened fire from the hill areas, adjacent to the district boundary with Churachandpur, police sources said.
According to them, unidentified men, suspected to be militants, fired at Sapam Sofia (27) from a distance of merely 100 metres at Saiton village in Bishnupur. She immediately succumbed to the bullet injury, police said.
The incident occurred at around 11 am on Saturday, with several other farmers having a narrow escape. Sofia's body remained there, before village volunteers retrieved it amid fear of further attacks. Speaking to TOI, a senior police officer confirmed that there were around 10 to 20 women who were engaged in paddy harvesting.
In the northeast, winter paddy harvesting starts from late October.
"The paddy field, where the incident took place, is very close to forest areas. Also, there are tribal settlements some distance away. The miscreants fired at the farmers and fled, taking advantage of the forest areas, along the district boundary with Churachandpur," the official said.
Police have not yet ascertained the identity of the assailants, but indicated that the violence was aimed at making Manipur a disturbed area again. Police personnel, along with additional central security forces, rushed to the spot and initiated retaliatory firing. However, no further casualties have been reported from either side.
Earlier, on Thursday night, a 31-year-old woman was immolated after being allegedly assaulted and violated. Jiribam police station registered a case on an FIR, lodged by the victim's husband, citing violations, including rape and murder, based on racial, communal and gender grounds and several other sections of BNS.
The assailants were suspected to be from the valley and were armed with deadly weapons. They attacked Zairawn village and had set ablaze 17 dwellings, after a round of random gunfire.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Kangkan Kalita is a reporter with The Times of India and covers i...
Read MoreKangkan Kalita is a reporter with The Times of India and covers issues on health, education, stories of human interest while keeping a close watch on political developments and student movements. Reporting on environment and forest related issues and concerns of the northeast interest him equally.
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