A fight broke out in Imphal East, Manipur on Sunday morning after a row over agricultural land brewing between the members of Meitei and Kuki dominated groups. The police said the tussle started at about 10 am when a Meitei farmer of Leitanpokpi allegedly came with a tractor to plough a paddy field in Sadu Lampak area that is adjacent to a Kuki village. The matter soon turned to an ugly situation when the local Kuki villagers protested against the cultivation on the land stating that the land was not owned by the farmer.
The situation escalated at the point where more Meitei residents in adjacent villages flooded to the scene inviting a full scale confrontation between the two communities. There were no reported injuries and casualties but the situation was quite volatile over a number of hours. The police and the security forces were forced to make an early intervention by firing tear gas shells and counterfeit bombs to spread the crowd and avert other violence.
The Additional Superintendent officer of Police (ASP) of Imphal East alongside groups composed of the paramilitary forces stationed in the center were deployed to contain the situation. A precautionary measure, reinforcement was sent to the area and the district Superintendent of Police (SP) was called on.
The altercation was rapidly uploaded on social media where we could see that the villagers of both communities were involved in pelting with stones and slingshots. Another alleged video captured Kuki villagers in an attempt to prevent Meitei farmers who were ploughing the contested field to further foster tensions.
In reaction to the incident, law enforcement agencies have called upon residents to be collected and avoid dissemination of unconfirmed information. A police officer in an operation said, we would like to ask people not to trust any rumour and obey law enforcement authorities to keep peace in the area.
Officials are still closely monitoring the situation as they strive to alleviate tensions between people and ensure that ownership of the land is investigated.
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