Four members of a self-proclaimed Zomi Revolution Army (ZRA) shot a local merchant in Chin State’s Tedim Township on June 13, resulting in the victim being admitted to an intensive care unit at Kalaymyo General Hospital.
The incident happened in Tongzang village 20 miles away from Tedim Town in Northern Chin State.
A person who helped the victim said minutes before the incident happened, a phone call came out asking the victim to hire his car. Soon after the phone call, four members of ZRA arrived at the victim’s home and shot him in his thigh.
“They called him at around 9:00 pm on June 13, asking him whether they could hire his car. He agreed to their request and told them his address. A few minutes after the call, ZRA’s members asked him to come out of his house. When he came out, he saw four men waiting him outside. They asked him to go somewhere with them but he refused and sat down. Then they accused him of spreading rumor that ZRA has no gun. A ZRA’s member pulled out a pistol on him saying ‘Do you see a gun now. Are you afraid?’ Then he shot him in his thigh. The ZRA’s armed men left the village with two bikes shortly afterwards,” a person who helped the victim said.
The victim himself and some of his friends said that a day before the incident, the victim had a chit-chat with some of his friends where he, not in a form of despise, mentioned if ZRA has any gun. The rumor spread and eventually, he got shot.
After ZRA’s armed men left, five local police arrived at the scene and handled the situation.
“We have opened the case and conducted investigation in accordance with police procedure. Only after the investigation is completed, we’ll be able to confirm whether the perpetrators are ZRA’s members. The victim has been admitted to Kalaymyo General Hospital,” a spokesperson of Tedim Police Station U Aung Lwin said.
The victim is identified as U Thang Khua Pau, a merchant from Tedim’s Tuithang village. He was first admitted to Tedim General Hospital. As there is no orthopedic surgeon at the hospital, he has been moved to Kalaymyo General Hospital.
Early this week, the ZRA sent a warning letter along with one bullet to a local merchant who has been accused of stealing minerals from Mwetaung Hill located in Chin State’s Tedim Township.
Also in 2017, the ZRA threatened a student leader during a village tour by university students in Tedim Township.
