A police commando was shot dead by suspected armed militants in Manipur’s Moreh town in Tengnoupal district on Wednesday, hours after the killing of another member of the armed forces.
The official has been identified as Takhellambam Sieleshwor Singh of the Indian Reserve Battalion. Six others were injured in the attack, the police said.
The attack comes as the situation in Moreh, a town along the border with Myanmar, remains tense following an ambush on security forces by suspected insurgents on December 30, after which a curfew was imposed.
On Wednesday morning, Manipur Rifles commando Wangkhem Somorjit Meetei was shot dead. Singh was the third member of the armed forces to be killed by suspected militants in two-and-a-half-months.
In October, Sub Divisional Police Officer Chingtham Anand was shot dead by suspected militants in the town.
On Monday, the police arrested two men for Anand’s killing, leading to unrest among Kukis, who constitute the majority in the mixed-population town. Later in the day, Meitei extremists burnt at least 11 homes and two schools in Moreh, the Indigenous Tribal Leader’s Forum claimed.
Due to the deteriorating law and order situation in the district on Wednesday, Manipur Home Department Commissioner T Ranjit Singh wrote to the Union home ministry asking for helicopters for medical emergencies and to airlift troops and weaponry to the area. Singh demanded that helicopters be sent to Imphal for at least seven days.
Meanwhile, an angry mob also attacked the 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion in Khangabok, Thoubal district on Wednesday. The police said that while the security forces repelled the attack, three members of the Border Security Force sustained bullet injuries.
Manipur has been gripped by ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities since early May. Over 200 people have been killed since the conflict broke out and nearly 67,000 persons have been forced to flee their homes.
Also read: Why India wants to do away with the free movement regime along the Myanmar border
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