A cop part of the advance security team of Manipur Police were injured after they were attacked by unidentified armed miscreants during their visit to Jiribam ahead of Chief Minister Biren Singh's scheduled visit to the area.
The incident took place in Kangpokpi district on Monday morning, leaving one personnel injured, police said. The convoy was on its way to violence-hit Jiribam district when it came under attack around 10.30 am near Kotlen village along a stretch of National Highway-53, they said.
Multiple gunshots were fired at the vehicles of the security forces, who retaliated, news agency PTI quoted a police officer as saying. The driver of one of the convoy vehicles suffered bullet injuries on his right shoulder, and he was taken a hospital in Imphal, the officer said.
“Security forces have reached the ambush site, around 36 km from the state capital, and launched combing operations to trace the gunmen,” he said.
"CM Biren Singh, who is yet to reach Imphal from Delhi, was planning to visit Jiribam to take stock of the situation in the district,” an official told PTI.
The Monday ambush comes in the backdrop of surge in violence in the region which began on June 6 after the recovery of the body of Soibam Saratkumar Singh, a 59-year-old Meitei farmer who had been missing for weeks.
The discovery of Singh's body sparked outrage among residents, prompting urgent calls for enhanced security measures and the right to arm themselves for protection.
The situation worsened and reportedly spilled over into neighboring Assam, where approximately 600 people from multiple ethnic backgrounds sought refuge in Lakhipur, Cachar district, fleeing the violence spreading their homeland.
On Saturday, suspected militants torched a police outpost and set fire in several houses in Jirbam. According to reports, the incidents occurred around 12:30 am when the militants torched the Jiri police outpost in the Chotobekra area along the Barak river.
The gunmen were suspected to be hill-based militants who launched additional assaults in Lamtai khunou and Modhupur, approximately 220 km from the state capital Imphal.
A district official in Jiribam speaking told PTI that several houses have been burnt, mainly in the outskirts of Jiribam district.
A commando team from Manipur Police was flown to Jiribam on Saturday morning from Imphal to help with the security operations against the militants.
