Woman gunned down by militants in Manipur's Bishnupur

A woman working in the paddy fields was gunned down by suspected hill-based militants in Manipur's Bishnupur district on Saturday, officials said.

The incident took place in the Saiton area when the woman, along with other farmers, went to tend to the crops when militants opened fire from hill-based positions on the low-lying farmlands in Imphal Valley.

The woman died on the spot, the officials said, adding the incident sparked tension in the village with locals alleging that the Central forces deployed in the area were not taking action to thwart such attacks.

Additional security forces have been sent to the area. The killing came two days after a 31-year-old woman was killed in an attack by unidentified persons in Zairon Hmar village of Jiribam district on Thursday night. Six houses were burnt in the incident. The woman's charred remains were found by villagers on Friday afternoon.

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kukis in Manipur since May last year.