The four men kneeling in the makeshift bunker face out over a lush green paddy field, their guns resting on a wall of cement sacks.

A sense of fear is all pervasive in Manipur since shocking violence between their community and minority Kuki groups broke out, marked by brutal killings and sexual crimes against women.

In both Meitei and Kuki areas near the de facto borders we frequently saw civilians walking freely with weapons, sometimes even in the presence of police and security forces.

The Manipur Police and Assam Rifles didn’t reply to BBC questions about whether they have sided with either community and why all armed civilians were not being apprehended and checked for licences.

One day later a video surfaced of him, kneeling on the ground, hands tied behind his back, his face bloodied, crying as he’s beaten by a group of men.

With the help of people from his community, her father Kulajit Hijam claims they found the boy’s phone was turned on a few days later with a Sim card registered in the name of a Kuki woman.

Saved 91% of original text.