Man left for dead rescued after 7 days !
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 05 2023: A young man who had been left for dead by Kuki militants at Sugnu has been rescued by Meitei villagers seven days after he sustained a bullet injury on his left thigh.

The young man has been identified as Thounaojam Rajkumar (21) s/o Thounaojam Sanjitkumar from Sugnu Awang Leikai.

He was shot and injured on his way to UKLF camp at Nazareth.

While hiding at a house, Kuki militants barged in and dragged him out by his foot and subsequently left him there mistaking him for dead.

Thounaojam Rajkumar received surgery at RIMS Hospital this morning and is currently receiving medical treatment at the Orthopaedic Ward of RIMS Hospital.

Recounting his ordeal, Rajkumar shared that on the morning of May 28, he fled to Pangaltabi along with his family members when Kuki militants began torching houses at Sugnu, Serou, Napat and Tangjeng coupled with incessant firing.

Man left for dead rescued after 7 days !

The next morning, Rajkumar and his brother Th Chitaranjit (18) joined a group of villagers from Sugnu and other areas (whose houses had been burnt) as they headed towards UKLF camp at Nazareth to face the Kuki militants.

At this juncture, well-armed Kuki militants began firing at the villagers and injured many, including Rajkumar.

The group retreated after being showered with bullets.

But many were hurt so they could not run and dropped to the ground, he said.

After a while, Rajkumar saw a group of Kuki militants making their way towards the area where the injured villagers lay.

With great difficulty, he managed to drag and hide behind an abandoned shop.

From this vantage point, he allegedly witnessed the Kuki militants firing their AK rifles at the injured Meitei villagers effectively killing them.

Thereafter, they began looking around for any other injured persons.

After the Kuki militants left, Rajkumar came out from his hiding spot and inspected a nearby abandoned house.

Finding some water there, he decided to hide in the abandoned house.

This continued for seven long days.

After spending seven days, he heard voices speaking in Meiteilon outside the house.

As he peered outside, he saw State forces along with Meitei villagers.

Immediately, he called out to them for help and thus Rajkumar was rescued.

Rajkumar also recounted that once while he was hiding in the abandoned house, 3/4 Kuki militants entered the house and continued to spend a long time talking over things.

However, sensing the presence of another human being, they began searching around the house.

They dragged him out by his foot from under a bed but left him there as they mistook him for a corpse.

Rajkumar also claimed that he saw Kuki militants armed with AK rifles and snipers conversing with Assam Rifles personnel while he was hiding at the abandoned house which was located quite close to the Nazareth camp.