Rebel chief shot dead in Manipur

Imphal (Manipur), Aug 22, 2018:

Lalminthang Vaiphei, chief of rebel outfit United Socialist Revolutionary Army, was assassinated on Wednesday morning. His assassination was the result of suspected factional feud.

The Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO) Churachandpur and the Zomi Students’ Federation (ZSF) expressed shock over the killing.

“Vengeance, cold-blooded murder, rivalry and any type of killing that can inflict chaos and cacophony in the society is non-justifiable. As such, Kuki Students’ Organisation, Churachandpur condemned the killing in the strongest term. The KSO as always is opposed to factional killing and armed rivalry among brethrens and terms the incident as most unfortunate and an irreparable loss to the society,” the KSO said in a statement.

Denouncing the “senseless act”, the organisation imposed an 18-hour “total shutdown” in the district from 12 noon of Wednesday. At the same time, it demanded the immediate arrest of the assassins. The KSO Churachandpur appealed to people involved in “supari” killings in the district to shun the path of violence and stop “hate killings”.

Condemning the killing, the ZSF demanded the arrest of the assailants within 24 hours and warned that in the event of failure, it would be compelled to launch an intense form of agitation. The ZSF asked the killers to spell out the motive behind the killing. It appealed to the public to maintain calm and be vigilant and not be carried away by rumours.