Imphal Ambush: Manipur Police Commandos Attacked En Route to Border Town
In a distressing turn of events, a contingent of Manipur Police commandos was dispatched to a border town as reinforcements following the tragic shooting of a senior police officer earlier today. However, they fell victim to an ambush by suspected insurgents during their journey, resulting in multiple commandos sustaining injuries just 10 kilometers shy of Tengnoupal district.
Responding swiftly to the crisis, Assam Rifles troops rushed to the site of the ambush, rescuing the beleaguered police commandos. Several of the injured personnel were promptly transported to nearby hospitals for medical attention.
Meanwhile, Kuki civil society groups have issued statements, alleging that this incident was a retaliatory shootout involving Kuki village volunteers. They claim this retaliation was provoked by the perceived indiscriminate use of force by the police commandos. These groups further assert that the Manipur government has been deploying state forces to Moreh with the intention of harassing civilians. They have now demanded the central government’s intervention to withdraw the police presence from the border town.
In response, a senior police officer in Moreh emphasized the challenge of distinguishing genuine “village volunteers” from those involved in insurgent attacks. The officer underscored the need for on-the-ground verification, cautioning against accepting all claims at face value.
The border trading town of Moreh, situated along the India-Myanmar border in Tengnoupal, witnessed the unfortunate shooting of senior police officer Chingtham Anand, who was overseeing the construction of a helipad. Moreh is approximately 115 kilometers away from the state capital, Imphal. While this distance may not seem substantial on paper, the Imphal-Moreh route presents a challenging terrain marked by hills, jungles, and winding roads that increase the risk of insurgent ambushes, according to sources.
The dispatch of police commando reinforcements to Moreh was prompted by the security forces’ pursuit of the suspected insurgent sniper responsible for the police officer’s killing.
Today’s unprecedented attack on the helipad project and the subsequent ambush signal a significant escalation in hostilities between security forces and insurgents, occurring amidst fragile normalcy in ethnically volatile Manipur.
The deployment of Manipur Police commandos to Moreh has faced obstacles due to roadblocks imposed by miscreants, hampering the movement of Border Security Force (BSF) and police personnel to the border town. To address this issue, a decision was made to construct a larger helipad, jointly managed by the state and the BSF. This new helipad will serve as a critical transit point for police and paramilitary personnel traveling to Moreh from various parts of Manipur, circumventing the roadblocks and ambush risks that have recently plagued the region.
It’s worth noting that insurgent groups are actively opposing the operation of this new helipad, as they seek to prevent its operationalization.
Kuki civil society groups have strongly denounced the Manipur government’s actions in Moreh, alleging indiscriminate operations against Kuki civilians. They have called upon the Indian government to withdraw police commandos from Moreh, expressing concerns about the well-being of the minority Kuki-Zo community.
Furthermore, these groups have criticized Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh for what they perceive as unequal treatment in two different cases of police officer deaths, highlighting the need for equitable responses to such incidents.
The underlying ethnic tensions in Manipur, driven by issues such as demands for inclusion under the Scheduled Tribes category and concerns over illegal immigration, continue to challenge the region’s stability. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is actively investigating an alleged transnational conspiracy involving terror groups operating in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Manipur, seeking to exploit ethnic violence in the state.
