Two kidnapped tribals found shot dead in Mapiur

Tension prevails in Manipur's Tengoupal district bordering Myanmar following the discovery of the bullet-ridden bodies of two kidnapped tribals on Sunday, police said.

The victims were identified as S. Mate, chieftain of Gomlon village and another villager S. Haokip. Police said that both of them had been abducted by armed persons on Friday night from their respective houses and were untraceable despite a manhunt launched to rescue them.

There has been no claim of responsibility from any armed group.

The killings come during a 48-hour general strike called by the Kuki Students' Organisation in the Chandel and Tengoupal districts in protest against the government failure to nab those gunmen who had tried to kill two office bearers of the organisation some days back.

There was no untoward incident during the strike. However normal life was thrown out of gear and the legal border trade affected.

Meanwhile women activists staged a sit-in protest in Imphal West district on Sunday to protest the bomb attack on some Central Reserve Police Force personnel on Saturday night that left two troopers injured.

T. Sanahabi, president of the Nupi Yaipha Lup said: "There is a school nearby and the street is a busy one and many civilians could have been killed and injured. We urge the unidentified persons not to repeat it in an overcrowded place."

Police have not made any arrest in the attack, for which no underground organisation has claimed responsibility so far.

--IANS

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