In a fresh round of violence in ethnic strife-torn Manipur, mutilated bodies of three youths were found following heavy gunfire at Kuki Thowai village in Ukhrul district on Friday, officials said.

This is the first time that an attack in the recent bout of violence has occurred in Ukhrul district, which is dominated by Tangkhul Nagas.

Sounds of heavy gunfire were heard from the village, which falls in Litan police station area, early in the morning, they said.

Officials said the bodies of the three youths aged between 24 years and 35 years were found after police carried out a thorough search in the surrounding villages and forest areas.

Bodies of the three persons bore injury marks apparently made using sharp knives and their limbs were also chopped off, officials said.

Ethnic clashes broke out in the northeastern State on May 3, after a “Tribal Solidarity March” was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meanwhile, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Friday asserted that everyone was entitled to speak freely in a democracy. He was reacting to the request of Kuki MLAs of Manipur to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a separate Chief Secretary and DGP for the Kuki-dominated hills areas in Manipur.

Ten Kuki MLAs, including seven from the BJP, submitted a memorandum to Modi on Wednesday, requesting that “posts equivalent to chief secretary and DGP” be established in five hill districts of the state to ensure “efficient administration” in the wake of the state’s three-month ethnic violence.

The five districts for which they raised this demand are Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Chandel, Tengnoupal, and Pherzawl.

“In a democracy, everyone is entitled to speak freely,” the chief minister told reporters here after a programme on the occasion of Sadbhavna Diwas.

Though there were a number of MLAs at the function, none spoke to the media on the issue.

The Kuki MLAs, in their memorandum, claimed, “The IAS, MCS, IPS and MPS officers belonging to the Kuki-Zo tribes have been unable to function and discharge their duties...”

The Kuki-Zo MLAs have also demanded Rs 500 crore from the PM’s relief fund for the rehabilitation of people of the community who have lost their homes and livelihood because of the three-month-long ethnic strife in the state.

In his Independence Day speech, CM N Biren Singh had claimed that foreign plot to destabilise the country have led to the loss of precious lives and properties in the State.