The bodies of 13 people were found in Manipur’s Tengnoupal district, hours after security forces received inputs that a gunfight had taken place there. Before the latest reported casualties, ethnic violence in the state, which was ignited on May 3, had already claimed at least 175 lives, the bulk of them in the first few days.

The deaths also shattered the relative calm in the state for the past few weeks. Just a day before this incident, on December 3, the Manipur government had finally restored mobile internet services in the state – except within a 2 kilometre radius of the borders of districts dominated by either community – “considering the prevailing law and order situation which is reportedly improving in the past few days”.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha in August, Home Minister Amit Shah had said: “Violence is slowly decreasing and it should not be reignited”

According to sources in the security establishment, Leithu in Tengnoupal district, where the bodies were found, has so far not seen any instances of violence during the course of ethnic clashes.

The area of Monday’s incident is located around 10 km Northwest of Saibol, where there was an attempt to target an Assam Rifles patrol through an IED attack on November 16. It is also around 10 km from the Myanmar border.

A statement issued by the Manipur police on Monday night stated that the deaths were an outcome of a gunfight “between unknown armed miscreants”. It stated that a case has been registered and investigation is going on.

“When security personnel reached the location this afternoon after receiving inputs that a firefight had taken place around 10:30 am, they recovered 13 bodies,” said security sources, adding that “their identities are not yet verified” and that no weapons were found near the bodies.

A team led by the Tengnoupal Superintendent of Police was present at the site on Monday evening, officials said.

The incident comes amid assertions by both the state and central leadership that Manipur is inching towards peace and normalcy. The signing of a peace agreement with banned Meitei militant group, United National Liberation Front, last week had been hailed as a significant step towards lasting peace in the state.

On the peace agreement, Shah had said, “UNLF, the oldest valley-based armed group of Manipur, has agreed to renounce violence and join the mainstream. I welcome them to the democratic processes and wish them all the best in their journey on the path of peace and progress.”