Two workers from Bihar were found dead with bullet wounds in Manipur’s Kakching district on Saturday, reported The Indian Express.

The police said that Dashrat Kumar (18) and Sunalal Kumar (17) – construction labourers from Bihar’s Gopalganj district – were shot by unknown assailants when they were cycling back from work in the Wabagai Keithel area around 5 pm on National Highway 137(A).

The police took both of them to a private hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival.

The police have registered a case and are investigating the motive behind the attack.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that the killings constituted an act of terrorism that was “a direct assault on our values”.

He said in a post on X: “In this crucial juncture, we cannot ignore the possibility that this horrific crime is part of a larger conspiracy to destabilise our state and push it further towards chaos.”

Singh announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 10 lakh to each bereaved family. He said that every possible effort was underway to identify and apprehend those responsible, and that the case would be handed over to the National Investigation Agency if required.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh to the families of each of the men. He also directed officials from the state social welfare and labour departments to provide other benefits to the family as per the rules.