Imphal, Oct. 23: Indefinite curfew has been imposed at Kwakta and its surrounding villages in Bishnupur district after a skirmish between a man and a woman at a local fish farm yesterday snowballed and threatened to explode into a communal clash.
Md Salim from Kwakta had allegedly misbehaved with 18-year-old Th. Hema from Moirang Santhong at a fish farm last evening.
When Hema returned home and reported the matter to her family, a group from Santhong took Salim to their village club and allegedly beat him up.
As news of Salim’s assault reached Kwakta, hundreds of villagers, armed with axes, sticks and stones descended on Santhong, damaged the club, and rescued him.
The mob also dragged away Hema’s elder brother, Th. Shyamkishore Singh, along with them.
As the situation threatened to get out of hand, a police team rushed to the area and fired several rounds in the air, ordering the warring groups to return home.
Curfew was imposed around 8pm to prevent further clashes.
Around 10pm, the police recovered a badly wounded Shyamkishore Singh, who was lying unconscious near a cremation ground in Kwakta.
He was taken to an Imphal hospital, where his condition is stated to be serious.
“Thousands of residents of Kwakta stormed Santhong club and took me to their village. I was blindfolded and beaten up. I lost consciousness. I believe they threw me away thinking that I was dead. I was lucky,” Shyamkishore Singh said from his hospital bed today.
Villagers of Santhong are now demanding that Salim and those involved in the assault be punished.
A large number of armed police personnel were deployed at Kwakta and the neighbouring village today.
No one ventured out because of the curfew, but the situation remained tense.
The local MLA from the ruling Congress, M. Prithviraj Singh, and CPI member N. Mangi Singh, representing the neighbouring constituency of Kumbi, today visited the two villages and tried to defuse the tension.
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