What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
The reported arrest of two suspected Kuki armed extremists at Phailengkot village in Kangpokpi district on the morning of 20th October marks a significant development in the investigation into the deadly Sunorok hills ambush that claimed the lives of Arubam Ronil, Lairenlakpam Inaobi and Kshetrimayum Sushil. Four sophisticated weapons and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were reportedly recovered from their possession.
But arrests alone cannot deliver justice. The authorities must establish who planned the attack, who executed it and whether a wider network of armed operatives was involved.
A group of 16 Meitei woodcutters came under a pre-planned assault near Sunorok hills, along the Imphal East–Kangpokpi district border, at approximately 9:40 a.m. on 19th October. Arubam Ronil and Lairenlakpam Inaobi were killed at the scene. Kshetrimayum Sushil, 32, succumbed to his injuries while being transported to a private hospital. Three more woodcutters were injured.
According to accounts from the survivors, the armed assailants had already positioned themselves beforehand to carry out the ambush. The woodcutters had reportedly been warned against cutting timber in an area allegedly used for poppy cultivation by armed Kuki extremist groups.
Politician and social activist M. L. Thadou has accused KNF-N cadres of orchestrating the attack. He has further alleged that Jangboi Kipgen, identified as Home Secretary of KNF(P), is covertly heading KNF-N while benefiting from the Suspension of Operations (SoO) arrangement through KNF(P). These serious allegations demand impartial investigation and independent verification.
Sunorok demands the truth, the prosecution of those responsible and credible guarantees that no civilian will again be hunted for earning a livelihood. Three men are dead. Their deaths must not become another statistic in Manipur’s seemingly endless cycle of violence.
