A gunshot wound to the head of an 8-year-old boy with parents on either side of the ethnic divide in Manipur - his tiny body one of three charred inside an ambulance set ablaze - will now join the unforgettable scars of the month-long carnage in the north-eastern state.
The vehicle was set on fire in the Iroisemba area of Imphal West, under the jurisdiction of Lamphel police station, on Sunday. Those dead have been identified as 8-year-old Tonsing Hangsing, his mother Meena Hangsing, and their relative Lydia Lourembam.
According to police and army sources, the ambulance was transporting the injured boy, who sustained a bullet wound in his head during a shoot-out, to the hospital. The family, a Meitei mother married to a Kuki man, and their son were reportedly residing in an Assam Rifles relief camp at Kangchup when the incident occurred.
A senior Assam Rifles officer confirmed the incident and said security has been strengthened in and around the camp where it happened. On Sunday evening, a gunfight started in the area, and despite being in the camp, the child was hit by a bullet.
A senior Assam Rifles officer immediately spoke to the police in Imphal and arranged for an ambulance. Since the mother was from the majority community, a decision was taken to take the child to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal by road, sources added.
The ambulance was under Assam Rifles escort for a few kilometres, after which the local police took over. Around 6:30 pm, the ambulance was waylaid by civilians at Isoisemba and set ablaze. All three in the vehicle were reportedly killed, sources added.
The Kangchup area has several Kuki villages and is on the Kangpokpi district's border with Imphal West, close to the Meitei village of Phayeng. The area has been seeing heavy exchange of fire in the second wave of violence across the state since May 27.
AdvertisementThe local government has extended an internet ban for five more days to quell the continued incidents of arson. The ban, which has been in place since May 3, was imposed after violence erupted between the state's Meitei and Kuki communities.
The ethnic violence in Manipur began when tribal groups clashed with the majority Meitei community over economic benefits and quotas given to the tribes. Tribal communities are worried about a possible extension of their benefits to the Meiteis. Rioting and ethnic clashes since early May have killed at least 80 people and displaced 35,000.
