A mob stormed the Ukhrul town police station in Manipur on Thursday and looted a cache of weapons amid ongoing clashes between two groups from neighbouring villages.
The conflict, rooted in a longstanding land dispute, escalated on Wednesday when three individuals were killed and over 20 others injured in a gunfight triggered by a disagreement over cleaning the contested land as part of the ‘Swachhata Abhiyan’ campaign.
As tensions mounted, a group of predominantly young men attacked Ukhrul’s Wino Bazar police station and decamped with a significant number of weapons. Early reports suggest that the looted weapons included AK-47 and INSAS rifles, along with other arms and ammunition.
The violence led to the imposition of prohibitory orders and suspension of mobile internet services in the town to prevent further escalation of violence.
This is the first time a police station in a Naga-majority area has been targeted amid the ongoing ethnic tensions that have plagued Manipur in recent months. Earlier instances of arms looting were confined to regions dominated by Meiteis and Kukis, the two other warring communities in the state.
While the authorities are yet to ascertain the exact number of weapons looted by the mob, initial reports indicate that the arsenal taken away by the mob includes eight 9mm pistols, several rifles, and over 900 rounds of ammunition.
The loot follows a broader pattern of violence in Manipur where over 6,000 arms have reportedly been stolen from state armories since the onset of ethnic conflict in 2023.
Meanwhile, efforts to stabilise the region are going on with heightened security measures in place to prevent further outbreaks of violence.