Imphal, Sept 19:
At least two Assam Rifles personnel were killed and five others injured in a deadly ambush by unidentified armed militants in Manipur’s Bishnupur district on Friday evening, officials confirmed.
The attack occurred in Nambol Sabal Leikai area when a column of the 33 Assam Rifles was moving from its Patsoi Company Operating Base to Nambol Company Operating Base. Militants opened heavy fire on the convoy along the highway in a denotified area, catching the troops off guard.
According to a defence spokesman, two jawans were martyred in the assault while five others sustained bullet injuries. They were evacuated to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal and are currently in stable condition.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the ambush. Soon after the attack, a large contingent of Assam Rifles and Manipur Police, led by senior officials, launched massive search operations in the surrounding areas to trace the assailants. Security forces have cordoned off the region, and combing operations are underway.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, security forces arrested six militants belonging to different banned outfits during operations across three districts of Imphal Valley in the past 24 hours.
Three cadres of the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party (PWG) were arrested from Imphal West district. They were identified as Leishangthem Tondon Singh (34), Leishangthem Anand Singh (34), and Heikham Hemchandra Singh (41). From their possession, forces recovered two Self-Loading Rifles, two modified .303 rifles, one INSAS rifle, nine magazines, and 99 rounds of ammunition.
Another PWG cadre, Taorem Tomchou Meitei alias Pena (45), was arrested from Andro in Imphal East. Additionally, one People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) cadre was arrested in Thoubal district, along with a Socialist Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (SOREPA) member identified as Khoinaijam Bhumeshwor Singh (24). Arms and ammunition were seized from both.
