Fighting, fires and a shutdown rocked Manipur on Wednesday as it continued to grapple with a fresh wave of unrest, prompting the Union government to increase the deployment of central forces in the strife-torn state.

In Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district, suspected militants opened fire on a group of farmers in Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou Maning village, leading to a gun battle with personnel of the 9th Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB).

“I was threshing barley and some of my colleagues were harvesting. Suddenly I heard gunshots and when I looked up, other farmers were running away. Some, however, remained stuck on the field. They were later rescued after IRB personnel retaliated,” said Nongmaithem Romeo, a farmer working in the fields.

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Police officers familiar with the matter said the fight lasted for 15 minutes, after which personnel evacuated about 20 farmers. “We never expected such an incident here in the paddy field. The government has to protect us,” Romeo said.

Wednesday’s fighting erupted days after a 34-year-old woman was killed in the district after suspected Kuki militants fired on a group of farmers working in a paddy field near the foothills of the neighboring district Churachandpur.

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The fresh wave of violence, which began on Thursday after an attack on a tribal village in Jiribam, has renewed security concerns in a region that has been in the grip of violence for nearly 18 months. On Monday, security forces shot dead 10 militants in Jiribam after a group of gunmen attacked a CRPF post. A day after the battle, the bodies of two civilians were recovered from a Jiribam village. Six members of a Meitei family from the same village – three women and three children – were reported missing, with officials saying they were likely abducted by militants.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Manipur Police confirmed that a CRPF vehicle was partially damaged after firing by militants in Jiribam on Monday. “Another CRPF BP vehicle also sustained damage due to firing by the armed militants who were firing from the hill side towards Kangchup,” it added.

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Normal life came to a standstill in the Imphal Valley on Wednesday due to a shutdown called by 13 civil rights organizations to protest the alleged abduction. Business establishments and educational institutions remained closed, private and inter-district public transport remained off the roads and government offices saw a negligible presence in Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, Kakching and Bishnupur districts.

“I have to pay a monthly offering, which I pay from the fare I get from passengers,” said an auto driver from Imphal on condition of anonymity. “However, now (after the closure of roads and public transport) I am forced to pay a late fee.”

Shanta Nahakpam, spokesperson for the 13 civil bodies, condemned the authorities for failing to stop attacks allegedly carried out by Kuki militants. “Had the government taken necessary steps to restore peace in Manipur, the violence might not have happened and the sporadic attack by Kuki militants could have been prevented,” Nahakpam said.

The 13 outfits also submitted a six-point memorandum to Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, demanding the immediate rescue of the six abducted persons; safeguarding national highways; designating a no-entry zone near rice fields near the foothills to prevent further attacks on farmers; improved coordination between all security forces; and sequestering all armed Kuki militants who are part of the cessation of operations (SoO) pact in their designated camps.

In neighboring Assam, a group of people from Jiribam protested at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) demanding the handover of bodies of militants killed in Monday’s encounter to their families.

“Only six autopsies had been carried out by midnight on Tuesday. We want the process to be completed soon and the bodies to be handed over to the family members,” said one of the protesters, on condition of anonymity.

Another protester said the men were protecting their village when they were shot.

“They were protecting our village. The situation was tense after the brutal killing of a woman there. But CRPF killed them and now we are not even allowed to take dead bodies,” said another protester.

On the same day, a convoy of eight trucks carrying essential items heading towards Noney district was attacked and two of the vehicles were torched on NH-37 by armed militants from Tamenglong district of the state.

The Rongmei Naga Students Organization Manipur (RNSOM) issued a statement, signed by its general secretary Jeanthui Panmei, claiming that the trucks were fired upon with automatic rifles before being set on fire.

“RNSOM strongly condemns the recent attack on two trucks which opened fire with hundreds of automatic rifle rounds… by armed Kukis militants who opened fire and set fire to the vehicles around 5.30-6am this morning,” it said in the communique.

(With contributions from Biswa Kalyan Purkayastha in Silchar)