Manipur police conduct search operations in areas bordering Imphal West following militant attacks

Imphal: The Manipur government has directed the state police to carry out search and sanitization operations in the areas bordering Imphal West district, where two people were killed and nine others injured in an attack by suspected insurgents, officials said.

Home Minister N Ashok Kumar asked the Director General of Police to take steps to arrest those involved in Sunday's gun and bomb attack and increase vigilance in the area to avoid any untoward incident.

“In view of the recent incidents disturbing the general public order in the peripheral areas bordering Imphal West district and the need to maintain preventive measures, I would like to request you to take necessary steps to carry out search and sanitization operations in the peripheral areas bordering Imphal West district, particularly in the stretch from Keithelmanbi to Koutruk,” the Commissioner said in a letter to the DGP.

The stretch between Keithelmanbi in Kangpokpi district and Koutruk in Imphal West is about 32 kilometres long and has been a flashpoint of sustained attacks since ethnic violence broke out in May last year.

According to police, militants fired indiscriminately from mountaintops into the lower valleys of Koutruk and neighboring Kadangband on Sunday, killing two people and wounding nine others. Several houses were also damaged.

Police claimed anti-tank grenades and drones were used in the attack.

An official statement on the gun and bomb attack said: “In an unprecedented attack in Koutruk, Imphal West, suspected militants used high-tech drones to launch numerous RPGs.” The use of drones to deploy explosives against security forces and civilians “marks a significant escalation,” it said.

The involvement of highly qualified specialists, possibly with technical expertise and support, cannot be ruled out, the statement said.

“Two rival groups have used drones in Manipur to monitor and identify movements of militants. The use of explosives by drones against civilians and security forces in Koutruk on Sunday is a new incident in the state,” an official said. PTI.

According to police sources, at least five drone bombs were dropped in the village of Koutruk.

Ethnically motivated violence in Manipur left more than 200 people dead and thousands homeless.