Suspected armed militants allegedly abducted three stranded people while two others escaped at Torbung Bangla in Churachandpur district on Thursday, sources said.
The incident reportedly occurred around 5.30 when a few stranded people returned to pick up some essentials from their houses located at Torbung Bangla that were damaged in the May 3 incident, the sources said.
One of the people who fled from the incident site was identified as Naorem Kaiku, a resident of Torbung Bazaar. He told mediapersons at Torbung GP Ground, that the incident occurred when he, along with some of his friends, went to get some relief materials from their houses located at Torbung Bangla.
They suddenly heard some gunshots and rushed into hiding on the other side of the road, he said.
“I saw a person putting his hand up in the air while another person in a black uniform held a gun,” he said, adding he recognised the person as one Naorem Prakash alias Tomcha from Torbung Bangla, Churachandpur district.
“I carried a catapult with me. I thought he was alone, and as I took aim at the armed person, three to four more armed persons suspected shouted at me to stop and not to run, else they would shoot me,” narrated Kaiku. He said, as he fled from the place, he was hit by a stick that was hurled at him by suspected militants as he fled for his life.
A similar incident reportedly took place at the same place in Torbung Bangla, where two people went missing after they went to collect paddy from their granary. One person sustained a knife wound in an attack by suspected armed militants, according to sources.
The injured person, identified as one Wangkhem Mohen Singh from Phubala Makha Leikai, told the media that he, along with six other friends, went to get some essential items from Torbung Bangla from their houses. Before they entered the place, they asked some police personnel who were on duty along the Churachandpur road whether they could enter to collect some ration items. The police personnel informed them that some people had already entered, and they can also enter but with caution, he narrated.
Among the seven of them, two of them, Thongam Shyam Singh and Leichonbam Suraj alias Lulu Meitei, went inside their granary to get some paddy, while the others stood guard.
On seeing four to five suspected armed militants coming towards them, they told the two persons, who were already inside the granary, to hide, and they fled from the spot towards the main road (Churachandpur road), he added.
As they fled, he saw two water tankers from Churachandpur coming from behind, and as the vehicle neared him, a person from the vehicle attacked him with a knife. In the attack, he sustained an injury to his left shoulder.
Mohen further said that he rushed to a nearby 10th BSF camp, Torbung Bangla, Churachandpur, and informed the in-charge of the camp about the incident. He said the in-charge along with eight to nine BSF personnel went to the spot for a search operation, but the two people hiding inside the granary were found missing.
The villagers of the area told the media that central paramilitary forces have been deployed in the state, but they do not feel safe as many armed militants are hiding in the nearby hills. They appealed for the protection of the villagers.
