By R Lester Makang
UKHRUL, February 10: A village leader has been reportedly beaten to death while the fate of another remains unknown after hundreds of people from another village whisked them away from their village over a long standing land dispute in Ukhrul district Monday morning.
Reliable sources said that around 9am on Monday, villagers from Halang Aze numbering over hundred stormed into Halang Ato village when a public meeting was in progress and whisked away the village chairman and secretary after overpowering the crowd.
Halang Ato being a smaller village having just 130 houses, while, Halang Aze village houses 465 households.
Thereafter, around 4 pm today Halang Ato villagers came to know that their chairman’s death body had been taken to the house of Halang Aze headman after killing him while the secretary remain untraced.
The deceased chairman of Halang Ato has been identified as VR Abner, 55, and the secretary as VS Shimthar, 60.
Efforts to contact the Ukhrul police over the phone regarding the matter proved futile.
Meanwhile, another source said that SDPO Ukhrul Nehemiah today led a police team to the spot to intervene but had to turn back with the understanding that the matter be resolved between the two villages as per the customary laws of the people.