COCOMI demands shoot-at-sight orders, ‘farmer safety zone’ after valley gun attack

The Meitei body COCOMI on Saturday demanded a 'farmer safety zone' in the periphery areas of Imphal Valley, two days after a farmer was injured in a gun attack in Bishnupur district.
    
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) also demanded shoot-at-sight orders in the periphery areas of the valley to deal with any unauthorised armed intruder, especially those carrying assault rifles or deadly firearms.
    
Strongly condemning the gun attack, COCOMI, in a statement, said, "Ningthoujam Biren Singh was shot from point-blank range barely 30 meters away from the SSB security line. This act of terror occurred after an outrageous breach through three tiers of security -- BSF, Army, and SSB -- raising serious concerns about the intent, efficiency, and reliability of the current security deployment in the valley."
    
"A COCOMI team held a meeting with the Bishnupur superintendent of police, followed by a strategic security dialogue at police headquarters with senior officers including ADGP L Kailun and IGP K Kabib," it said.
    
COCOMI stands in full solidarity with local farmer groups and the victim's family and demands a declaration of a 'farmer safety zone' with shoot-at-sight orders, it said.

Also Read: Manipur: Four active cadres from different insurgent outfits arrested across the state
    
"The entire agrarian belt along the foothills and canal zones must be officially designated as a 'farmer safety zone' and must be declared a 'no arms zone', and any unauthorised armed intruder, especially those carrying assault rifles or deadly weapons, must face immediate shoot-at-sight orders," COCOMI said.
    
COCOMI also called for a guarantee to "uninterrupted cultivation access" and to allow farmers to cultivate paddy fields of the Meiteis up to the foothill areas without fear or obstruction.
    
It also demanded the deployment of two to three additional companies of security forces for regular mobile patrolling while maintaining all existing static posts to ensure round-the-clock surveillance of sensitive farming zones.
    
The farmer was shot at on Thursday afternoon while he was working in the fields in Phubala in the valley district of Bishnupur after armed men allegedly opened fire from the surrounding hills, officials said.
    
Farmers, who were working with him, claimed that the shots were fired from the nearby hills, they said.
    
Located on the periphery of the Imphal Valley, the vast farmlands of Phubala are surrounded by the hills in the Churachandpur district on one side.
    
Protesting the incident, locals called a shutdown in Phubala. The movement of security forces was blocked in some areas of the district, they said.
    
Over 260 people have been killed after ethnic clashes broke out between the Meiteis, who live in the valley, and Kukis, who dominate the surrounding hills, in May 2023.