Imphal, January 12: Tension is running high in Moreh town after unidentified gunmen shot dead a youth today morning, which is seen by many as a retaliation to the shooting of a youth yesterday.

To defuse the situation and take up necessary preemptive measures, police top brass including an IG and a DIG have rushed in here and set up camp.

Tension erupted when unidentified gunmen shot dead a goldsmith in front of the Moreh Excise office today at about 6.25 am.

The deceased is identified as Laishram Panchamani (26) of Moreh Heinoumakhong under Ward number 7.According to police sources, Panchamani was shot dead today morning while he was waiting for a bus to attend a Phiroi at Lamshang.

The gunmen came in an autorickshaw.

However according to independent sources, the youth was pulled down from an Imphal bound bus by the gunmen and shot dead.

The gunmen also opened a number of blank fires and fled towards the hospital road.

The victim received bullet shot near the left ear and right chest.

He was killed at the spot.

One spent cartridge of AK-47 rifle and one cartridge of 9 mm pistol were recovered from the site.

Police retrieved the body and after a post mortem at Lilong PHC, the body was taken back to Moreh.

However a large number of womenfolk of Moreh came out on the street and blocked the road in front of the UBI office and stopped the police from taking the body further.

The family members have refused to take back the body too.

Strongly protesting the killing the Kha-Nongpok Apunba Nupi Lup clamped a bandh in Moreh and forced the closure of all shops.

Imphal bound vehicles from Moreh were also stopped.

However buses from Imphal reached Moreh.

As tension mounted at the cosmopolitan border town, additional police force led by IG (LO-I) R Baral, DIG Range II C Doungel and Chandel SP rushed to Moreh to oversee the situation.

As the IG refused to accept a memorandum containing a two point charter of demand from the women folk, the representation was subsequently submitted to the Executive Magistrate of Moreh.

The main demands of the memorandum include increasing the strength of IRB personnel at Moreh and payment of adequate ex-gratia to the family members of the deceased youth.

The women folk made it clear that the body will not be taken back until and unless their demands are met and warned that they will be constrained to take up a series of intense agitation from January 25.The AMSU unit of Chandel district has supported the demands of the women folk.

The student body has threatened that if the demands of the women are not met then they will impose an economic blockade on the Imphal-Moreh route.

To defuse the tension, a public meeting was held at the Moreh police station Hawa Mal today.

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