Imphal, June 20 (IANS) A day after a farmer was shot at in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, the state government on Friday announced to provide security to the farmers in the vulnerable areas, officials said.

A senior police official said that adequate security would be provided to ensure the safety of farmers in the fields and prevent incidents involving the farmers.

A woman was killed and a farmer shot at in separate incidents in Manipur’s Churachandpur and Bishnupur district respectively on Thursday.

The official said that one Ningthoujam Biren Singh, a cultivator from Phubala Awang Maning Leikai, was shot in his left arm by an unknown armed miscreant while working in his paddy field at Phubala Maning in Bishnupur district.

Singh, who belonged to the Meitei community, was initially taken to District Hospital in Bishnupur for medical treatment and was later referred to the Regional Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) medical college and hospital in Imphal.

His condition is reported to be stable at present.

In response, security forces launched a search operation in and around Langchingmanbi, Heichanglok, and the western areas of Phubala village.

During the course of the operation, security forces came under fire from unknown armed attackers and the forces retaliated accordingly.

During the crossfire, one woman identified as Hoikholhing Haokip from Langchingmanbi village was found dead with a bullet injury.

The victim, who belonged to the Kuki tribal community, was the wife of the village chief of Langchingmanbi.

A Manipur police statement said that cases have been registered in connection with the incidents, and the investigation is underway.

Combined security forces are continuing search operations to nab the perpetrators.

The statement said that every effort is being made to bring those responsible to justice at the earliest.

Additionally, security arrangements related to farming activities in the area will be reviewed.

The people are requested to maintain peace and not circulate unverified information.

Further updates will be issued as the investigation progresses, the statement said.

On June 15, tension erupted in Manipur’s Imphal East district over a dispute related to the farming of a paddy field and the land ownership, but was defused with the deployment of additional security forces in the area.

A police official had said that a farmer, belonging to the Meitei community from Leitanpokpi areas, went with a tractor to plough a paddy field in Sadu Lampak village in Imphal East near a Kuki tribal-inhabited village.

“Some Kuki villagers nearby came and objected, claiming that the paddy field does not belong to the Meitei community farmer. In the meantime, some people of the Meitei community, who were nearby, also came to the spot. Some videos were circulated saying Kukis have come down to stop Meitei farmers,” the official had said.

An official of the Agriculture department said that as the agricultural season nears its peak, unresolved land access disputes and the lack of effective protection for farmers continue to deepen ethnic divides and fuel unrest in conflict-affected areas of Manipur.

The current Kharif season, also known as the monsoon season, runs from June to October.

Due to the ethnic violence in Manipur, the farming activities have been affected in both Imphal valley and hilly areas during the past more than two years.

Meanwhile, security forces have arrested eight militants, including a woman cadre, belonging to various banned outfits in Manipur during the past 24 hours from Imphal West, Tengnoupal, Kakching and Bishnupur districts.

Of the eight extremists, two active cadres of the banned Peoples’ Liberation Army were apprehended from Wangoi Bazar in Imphal West district and some materials were recovered from their possession, a police official said.

–IANS

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