A 31-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, ZPSANGKIM, WAS ALLEGEDLY SHOT AT, BEATEN, SEXUALLY ASSAULTED AND BURNT ALIVE THURSDAY NIGHT IN A BRUTAL ATTACK ON ZAIRAWN. (PHOTO).

 A 31-year-old woman, Zosangkim, was allegedly shot at, beaten, s€xually @ss@ulted and burnt alive Thursday night in a brutal attack on Zairawn, a Hmar-majority village in Manipur’s Jiribam district. Local residents and tribal groups allege that 80 to 100 armed assailants, believed to be from the Meitei community and the radical Meitei group Arambai Tenggol, opened fire on the villagers and set 17 homes on fire, further escalating violence in the region.

“Around 9 P.M. last night, we heard gunfire and immediately began running,” recounted a resident of Zairawn, whose house was also set ablaze. “They came in two teams—one opened fire on residents while the other started burning our homes,” a resident, who lives directly across from Zosangkim’s house, told ThePrint on Friday. “They didn’t just burn our houses—they looted everything: furniture, vehicles, even ceiling fans,” he said. “They came in vehicles and loaded up all our belongings. My entire house is destroyed. We had no weapons; we were completely helpless.”

Locals said that Zosangkim, a mother of three—two daughters, aged 9 and 7, and a 3-year-old son—was shot in the thigh while attempting to escape. Her husband managed to carry her about half a kilometer away at around 10 pm, then took their children to safety. However, when he returned for her, she had vanished from the spot. She was later found beaten up and burnt alive in her own house.

A senior police officer stated that miscreants, suspected to be members of the valley-based Arambai Tenggol group, attacked Zairawn village late at night, opening fire and setting houses on fire. He added that despite the area being under security, the assailants had managed to infiltrated