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Police officer killed, 3 cops injured in two militant attacks in Manipur
Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh condemned the attack and said that he was saddened by the cold-blooded killing
A sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) was killed, and three constables were injured in two incidents of attack by suspected militants in ethnic-strife hit Manipur’s Moreh on India-Myanmar International border on Tuesday.
The first incident happened on Tuesday morning when SDPO (Moreh) Chingtham Anand Kumar, officer in charge of the Moreh police station, was on duty overseeing the cleaning of the grounds for construction of a helipad at a school ground at Moreh, a commercial town near the boundary with Myanmar, at around 9.30am, officials said.
Police said he was shot at with a sniper rifle from some distance and the wounded officer was rushed to a nearby health centre and later airlifted to Imphal, 130 km away, where he succumbed to his injuries.
In the second incident, a Manipur police re-enforcement team being dispatched to Moreh came under attack on the Imphal-Moreh highway, in which three state police personnel sustained bullet injuries. Police said the three received injuries on their legs and were out of danger. “They were being shifted to Imphal,” a senior police officer said. The reinforcement team was led by IG (Zone I) Themthing Ngasangva and DIG(Range II) Jogeshchandra Haobijam.
Following the attack, people came out in groups at Singjamei and Wangjing areas in Imphal demanding justice in the killing of the officer while a joint action committee has been formed by residents in connection with the Moreh incident.
Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh said that he was saddened by the ‘cold-blooded killing’ of the officer.
“Deeply saddened by the cold-blooded killing of SDPO Chingtham Anand, OC Moreh Police this morning,” Biren Singh wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “His dedication to serve and protect the people will always be remembered. The perpetrators will be brought to justice.”
Later an emergency cabinet meeting was called at CM’s office that condemned “the dastardly act in strongest terms” and it approved an ex-gratia of ₹50 lakh as compensation to the dead officer’s family. “A suitable government employment shall also be provided to the next-of-kin of the deceased martyr,” said CM’s secretariat in a press release.
“The cabinet also directed for launching a joint operation in Moreh and adjoining areas to nab the culprits responsible for the crime and to continue the same till the culprits are arrested,” the statement said
It also said that additional state forces have been detailed from Imphal for the purpose. The operations have since started.”
The cabinet further directed that the central and state forces shall ensure free movement of transportation and general public along Pallel-Moreh road on NH-102 while reviewing the security situation in the region.
Meanwhile, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a Kuki organisation, on Wednesday issued a statement accusing the state government of being discriminatory while dealing with killings of police officers from the community.
On September 13, Ongmang Haokip, a sub-inspector in Manipur police, who was a Kuki, was shot to death while he was posted on duty at Chingphei in Churachandpur district.
“Recent events have brought to light an alarming disparity in the treatment of the citizens, based solely on their ethnic identity, further emphasising the divisive agenda perpetuated by the Meitei-centric communal chief minister N Biren Singh and his cabinet,” said the ITLF statement.
The organisation accused the CM of remaining silent on Haokip’s death and claimed that no monetary relief was provided to his family.
Manipur witnessed ethnic violence between Meitei and tribal Kuki communities from the first week of May, in which around 175 people were killed and nearly 50,000 people were displaced.
