CHANDEL, February 4: In connection with an alleged incident of suspected NSCN IM militants harassing villagers and indiscriminately firing near Molnom Village in Chandel district last night, a team of Kuki civil organisations of Chandel visited the village today.
A team of the Kuki civil bodies comprising of Kuki Chiefs Association, Chandel District, Kuki Chiefs Association Tengnoupal Block, Kuki Students Organisation, Chandel and TSA Chandel visited Molnom Village today.
The leaders of the civil organisations interacted and consoled the fear gripped villagers, while assuring them to apprise the situation to the concerned authorities.
Narrating the incident, an elderly villager told the visiting team that the incident happened when three villagers had gone to a nearby stream to take bath after playing volleyball. They were abducted and interrogated by some suspected NSCN IM cadres along with some Aimol villagers.
It is also learnt that the old villager had informed the team that on hearing some commotion, women folk of the village rushed to the stream to get hold of the villagers supposing that they were drunk and making the commotion.
He had also said seeing the women approaching towards them, the suspected militants told their captive villagers to tell the women folk to turn back to the village, but when they continued coming towards them, the suspected NSCN (IM) militants fired at their direction.
After the gunfire, it is learned that one villager identified as Lunkhogin (24) was found injured and the abducted villagers escaped from their captors, he told the team.
Meanwhile, condemning the incident, the elderly villager appealed to all against harassing the innocent villagers and against creating fear psychosis among the villagers by indiscriminately firing near villages. Such incident is highly condemnable, he told the visiting team.
Till date, we have no enmity with our neighboring villages and we have been settling peacefully for the past many years, he added.
He further expressed dissatisfaction over putting up of a gate at Aimol Satu village along old Burma as it hampers free movement of the villagers.
He further appealed to all the concern to remove the said gate and facilitate free movement of villagers day and night along the road.