Village guard gunned down by unidentified men in Imphal W

IMPHAL: Unidentified men gunned down a village guard at Kadangband Part 2 area in Manipur's Imphal West district around 3.30am on Saturday, police said.

The deceased, identified as Ningombam Jamesbond (35) of the nearby Mayanglangjing area, was guarding the village with other village defence volunteers when he was shot dead by suspected militants from a nearby hill, they added.

Ningbom's body was taken to the state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) for autopsy.

Locals said Jamesbond was a sports journalist with a vernacular daily, Naharolgi Thoudang, a few years ago.

CM N Biren Singh strongly condemned the killing. "The matter is under investigation and combing operation is on to nab the culprits," he said, appealing to all concerned to shun violence and come forward to the negotiating table to restore peace and normalcy in the New Year.

Friends and well-wishers, mostly from the media fraternity, offered their condolences on social media.

Saturday's incident came 26 days after 13 persons were killed in a gun attack in Tengnoupal district bordering Myanmar.

Local villagers, mostly womenfolk, alleged that both the central and state security forces failed to act against those attacking a Meitei village. "We have been spending sleepless nights here at Kadangband Part II since the ethnic clashes broke out. Today's incident happened despite the presence of the Assam Rifles, the CRPF and some state forces," a Kadangband Meira Paibi (woman vigilante) leader said.

Kadangband, located on the fringes of Imphal West district, shares a boundary with Kangpokpi district which has witnessed unceasing violence since May 3.

Meanwhile, launching seven new welfare schemes, Biren announced that his government would provide cash assistance of Rs 1 lakh to every family displaced by the ongoing violence in the state.

The over seven-month long ethnic strife has forced about 50,000 people to take refuge in relief camps and prefabricated houses across the restive state.

At a presser at his office complex here, Biren said the financial support would be provided from January in four instalments of Rs 25,000 each.

Among the schemes he launched were CM's Farmer Livelihood Support Scheme, CM's Khungang Ama Sanabung Ama (one village one playground ) and CM's Sportpersons Livelihood Guarantee Scheme.

The others included Scheme for Construction of Recognised Tribal Libraries with Digital Infrastructure, CM's Ima Nongthangleima Yaipha Tengbang Scheme (women's welfare scheme), School Fagathansi Mission 2.0 (school improvement mission) and College Fagathansi Mission (college improvement mission).

Biren said the farmer's livelihood support scheme was taken up to meet the identified gaps which cannot be met in the short-term with existing sources of funding and to provide coordinated, focused, flexible, quick and short-term support for agriculture-based livelihood activities.

He said Ima Nongthangleima Yaipha Tengbang Scheme provides a monetary benefit of Rs 500 per month to women who are above 40 years and are not beneficiaries of any existing government scheme and are without any source of livelihood.

Biren further said a 50-bed building would be constructed under the municipal administration, housing and urban development (MAHUD) department to accommodate orphans who are above 18 years of age. More accommodation facilities would be constructed as per necessity to support their livelihood, he said, adding that free distribution of rice under PM-GKAY to the beneficiaries every month has also been extended till 2028.