New Delhi: A man was killed during a joint operation conducted by security forces in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Tuesday (June 16), with police describing him as a suspected militant, although local BJP MLA Letzaman Haokip has alleged that the deceased was an innocent villager.The deceased has been identified as Lenminsang Haokip, son of Lenkhogin Haokip. However, Letzaman Haokip, the BJP MLA representing the Churachandpur assembly constituency, disputed the police account and alleged that the man was not a militant.Speaking to The Wire, Haokip said that Songkong, the village where the incident took place, is inhabited entirely by Kukis and is located far away from any Meitei or Naga-majority settlements.“I don’t know why this killing happened,” he said.The MLA also questioned the circumstances surrounding the operation. According to him, there was no exchange of fire or armed confrontation in the area before the killing.“Songkong village is entirely [inhabited by Kukis]. There are no Meitei or Naga settlements nearby. There was no shooting or retaliation from villagers when the central forces entered the village,” Haokip claimed.When asked what could have prompted the operation in the village, Haokip said: “Last year, four people belonging to an underground group were killed in the same village, and I suspect this may be the reason why the AR [Assam Rifles] and security [forces] might have entered that village again.”In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Manipur police said that security forces were carrying out an operation against suspected militants in Songkong when an encounter took place.“During the encounter, one suspected militant was killed. One AK-47 rifle, along with magazines, ammunition, explosives and other incriminating items, was recovered from the spot. A case has been registered in this connection and further investigation is in progress,” the statement said.The police statement did not provide further details about the circumstances of the encounter.Following the killing, Kuki women staged protests in parts of Churachandpur, demanding accountability. The Songkong Village Authority also issued a statement condemning what it described as a “brutal and inhumane attack” on the village by Army personnel on Tuesday. The statement alleged that security forces used drones and bombs during the operation and that Lenminsang Haokip was an innocent civilian.The village authority further claimed that after he was killed, security personnel stripped him of his civilian clothes, dressed him in military uniform and removed his body from the area. “To this hour, there is no trace of his mortal remains,” the statement said.Kuki civil society organisations based in Churachandpur’s Henglep also issued a joint statement echoing the allegations.“Such actions constitute a grave abuse of power and a blatant violation of human rights and the rule of law,” four organisations – the Henglep Subdivision Chiefs’ Association, the Kuki Students’ Organisation (Henglep block), the Kuki Khanglai Lawmpi (Henglep block) and the Henglep Women’s Society – said in their statement dated Tuesday.On Thursday, the defence ministry said in a statement that Army and Assam Rifles personnel were conducting an operation in Henglep on Tuesday after receiving inputs on the movement of United Kuki National Army cadres when a gunfight occurred. “The intense firefight resulted in neutralisation of one insurgent, while others insurgents escaped,” it said.Ethnic tensions between Manipur’s Meitei and Kuki communities erupted in May 2023, and over 290 people – including civilians and members of state and central security forces – have been killed in the ensuing violence, while around 60,000 others were displaced.The two communities continue to be physically segregated from each other by ‘buffer zones’ patrolled by security forces.Elsewhere in the state, a separate conflict between Kukis and Nagas erupted in February, which has seen members from both communities be killed and taken hostage and their houses burned.This article was updated with the defence ministry’s statement at 1:47 pm on Thursday.