Sanakeithel comes under gun fire, hostages released

Correspondent/OSR
UKL/IMP Mar 12: Hours after the Tangkhul civilians taken hostage by Kuki militants from Imphal-Ukhrul road were rescued, Sanakeithel (Sinakeithei) village, Ukhrul district came under attack from heavily armed suspected Kuki militants this morning.
As heavily armed Kuki  militants opened indiscriminate  fire upon Sanakeithel village, the village volunteers  responded by opening fire toward the Kuki militants, thus resulting in a heavy exchange of firing.
Heavily armed Kuki militants from Tingbipung area of Lungther hill range fired around 20 rounds of bullets toward Sanakeithel village at around 10.30 am.
At first, there was no retaliation from the side of the village volunteers.
However, after a gap of around one hour, the Kuki militants again fired some rounds of bullets toward Sanakeithel village and tried to advance toward the village.
This time the village volunteers retaliated and prevented the Kuki militants from advancing toward the village, sources said.    
Although the exchange of firing lasted for around three hours with short intervals in between,  there was no report of any casualty till the time of filing this report.
Nonetheless, the situation in the Litan area remains tense and volatile.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, an irate mob of Mongkot Chepu village attacked a security escort team of Ukhrul Superintendent of Police on its way to Imphal early in the morning today.
According to the sources, two security personnel were injured in stone pelting and the windshield of a Gypsy belonging to security personnel was damaged by the mob.
Notably, Shangai and Mongkot Chepu villagers imposed a bandh on Ukhrul-Imphal highway after two dead bodies were found at a site overlooking the forest of Thawai Kuki village.
The villagers burnt tyres and no vehicular movement was allowed on the road.
Earlier, the 21 Tangkhul people taken hostage by suspected Kuki militants were rescued in the wee hours today.
The Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) has extended gratitude to Ukhrul District Administration, the SP Ukhrul and Naga communities for their timely intervention in resolving the situation.
The rescued hostages revealed the ordeal endured by them.
They said that they were taken to different locations and the captors threatened to eliminate them.
The captors robbed over Rs 8.55 lakh in cash in addition to other valuable items like jewellery, wrist watches and mobile phones.
The captors even robbed educational certificates, according to some of the hostages.
All the hostages have now safely reached their homes.
Subsequent upon the hijacking incident, the TNL has released a travel advisory, considering the prevailing situation in Litan area.
It advised all to avoid travelling from Litan to Shangkai on NH- 202 (Imphal- Ukhrul highway) until further notice.
Sinakeithei village too has issued a ‘public safety order’  in view of the prevailing security situation.
It said that no civilians should use the Leplen-Tingbipung  route via Sanakeithel road and also Sanakeithel-Tanrui road until further notice.
Civilians are also strictly prohibited from crossing into the jurisdiction of Sanakeithel, particularly along the Lungther hill range, Sanakeithel-Tanrui road and its surrounding areas for the safety and interest of the public due to ongoing security concerns in the region, it said.
If anyone is defying this ‘public safety order’ they will be doing so at their own risk and they shall be held solely responsible for any consequences arising from such actions, it added