Three people were killed in a fresh incident of violence on Friday morning in Manipur in a village in the Tangkhul Naga-dominated Ukhrul, which has been relatively peaceful as ongoing conflict gripped other parts of the state.

As per initial reports, the incident took place at around 4:30 am in the Kuki village of Thowai Kuki, which comes under the jurisdiction of Ukhrul police. The deceased were identified as Thangkhokai Haokip, Jamkhogin Haokip and Hollenson Baite.

They were reported to be village guards tasked with guarding the village, according to the Ukhrul superintendent of police (SP) Ningshem Vashum.

He said, “The incident is related to the ongoing ethnic problem in the state. Some armed miscreants entered the village and these three people who were guarding the village were shot. The firing has stopped in the area and security forces comprising the Army and police have moved into the area.”

As the village is in a remote location, the nearest security post is around three kilometers away because of which security personnel were not present at the time, he added.

Thowai Kuki comes under Ukhrul police, however, it falls under the Kamjong revenue district. Ukhrul has not seen violence in the ongoing clasges between the state’s Meitei and Kumi-Zomi communities. Another incident of violence had taken place in another Kuki village in Kamjong around a month ago, Vashum added.