Guwahati
With one more person succumbing to bullet injuries, the toll in the violence that broke out at Pallel rose to three on Saturday.
The 37-year-old victim had sustained bullet wounds on his head during the crossfire between security forces and armed miscreants and was undergoing treatment at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal.
According to media reports, as the news of the gunfight spread, large groups of Meitei community members, including Meira Paibis and Arambai Tenggol militiamen dressed in commando uniforms, attempted to break through security check posts and move towards Pallel.
As security forces personnel attempted to stop the mob, some armed persons who were dressed in police uniforms and part of the mob opened fire, resulting in gunshot injuries to an Army major. The officer was evacuated to a military hospital in Leimakhong by a helicopter. Three other police personnel were also injured in the incident.
Earlier, on Friday two persons were killed and nearly 50 injured in two different firing incidents at Pallel in the strife-torn State’s Tengnoupal district.
A fierce gun battle between armed miscreants and the security forces took place after Assam Rifles’ personnel tried to control an ongoing gun battle between two groups. The firing reportedly broke out at around 6 am. Four civilians sustained bullet wounds, sources said.
One person, an armed village volunteer, died in the firing between two groups of unidentified men at Pallel that started around 6 am, the sources pointed out. Zhe other person who lost his life was a resident of Kakching district and identified as Yengkhom Jiten (43). He succumbed to bullet injuries.
