Guwahati: A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was killed and three others injured, including a Sub-Inspector (SI) from Jiribam Police Station, in an ambush in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Sunday.
The combined security team, consisting of CRPF’s 20th Battalion and Manipur Police personnel, was approaching Monbung village for a search operation linked to a previous firing incident. Unknown armed men ambushed them around 9:40 am.
One Sub-Inspector of the Manipur police, a commando of the state forces, and one CRPF personnel were injured in the gun fight, officials said.
The killed CRPF jawan was identied as 43-year-old Ajay Kumar Jha from Bihar.
The suspected insurgents opened fire on the patrol, leading to an exchange of fire. Visuals from the scene show a patrol SUV riddled with bullet holes and a shattered rear windshield, indicating the police commandos inside were targeted.
“We retaliated effectively, The attackers fled into the forest. A combing operation is underway to apprehend them,” NDTV quoted a police official as saying.
Following the incident, additional security forces of Assam Rifles, Manipur police, BSF, and CRPF rushed to the spot and launched massive combing operations in the area.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh condemned the attack, alleging involvement of “suspected Kuki militants” in a social media post.
The ambush comes amidst heightened tensions in Jiribam following recent clashes between the Meitei community and the Hmar tribes.
The state had witnessed a lull in violence after ethnic clashes erupted in May 2023.
However, fresh clashes in Jiribam last month displaced over a thousand people from both communities, forcing them to seek refuge in relief camps, some even crossing the border to Assam.