Shillong, Sep 19: Two Assam Rifles personnel were killed and five injured in an ambush on a vehicle transporting the paramilitaries in Manipur’s Bishnupur district on Friday evening.
One of those injured was identified as LP Sangma from Tura. The 46-year-old, whose condition was reported as stable, is the son of Waitstick S Momin. The other injured are Ningthoukhongjam Nongthon from Imphal East, DJ Dutta from Lakhimpur in Assam, BK Rai from Sikkim and Subashchandra from Uttarakhand.
They were taken to RIMS Imphal for treatment. The two deceased have been identified as Naik Subedar Shyam Gurung and Rifleman Keshap.
The jawans were ambushed by a group of armed men at around 5:50pm as they were travelling from Imphal towards Bishnupur. The attack happened in the area around Nambol Sabal Leikai.
At the time of filing this report no group had claimed responsibility. The armed forces, backed up by reinforcements, are hunting for the perpetrators.
“… the column was ambushed by unidentified terrorists on the Highway in the denotified area of Manipur. In the ensuing action, two personnel of Assam Rifles were martyred and five were injured who have since been evacuated to RIMS and are currently stable. Search operations are ongoing to apprehend the terrorists involved in the incident,” a defence statement said.
Police and forensic personnel recovered several spent cartridges from the ambush site, which is around 16km from Imphal.
The jawans exercised restraint even after coming under fire as there was the risk of civilians getting hit. As Nongthon explained, “The assailants, numbering around 4 to 5, suddenly opened fire towards us. We did not immediately retaliate as it would have led to injuries to the public, as it was not an isolated area.”
Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla condemned the attack on the security forces. The injured jawans were also visited in hospital by former Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February after Singh resigned. The state has suffered through more than two years of unrest between Meiteis in the Imphal valley and Kukis in the hills. Only recently did it receive a high profile visit from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been criticised for not visiting the troubled state sooner and for not imposing President’s Rule earlier; both he and Biren are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Regarding the hated Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), the draconian law has not been applied to the attack site. Earlier in the day, protesters had blocked the main road, some 20km from the ambush site, in the same district after the police arrested a 45-year-old man. (with PTI inputs)
