IMPHAL, 18 Jan: At least three BSF personnel sustained bullet injuries after gunmen fired at security forces in Manipur’s Thoubal district, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred late Wednesday night when the gunmen from a mob which “attempted to breach the Thoubal police headquarters” fired at the security personnel, a police statement said.
The mob first targetted the 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion in Khangabok in Thoubal district, and security forces repelled them using minimum force.
“Further, the mob attempted to breach Thoubal police headquarters, prompting the security forces to use the force. Armed men from among the mob fired with live rounds. As a result, three personnel from BSF sustained bullet injuries,” the police statement said.
The three, identified as Constable Gourav Kumar, ASI Sobram Singh and ASI Ramji, have been sent to a private hospital.
The district administration imposed a curfew in Thoubal.
However, people, belonging to essential services including health, media, and those involved in the functioning of courts and those going to airports are exempted from the purview of the curfew.
The fresh violence in Thoubal was reported after two Manipur Police commandos were killed and two sustained bullet wounds as heavily-armed militants targeted them in Moreh, a business town close to the Myanmar border, on Wednesday, officials said.
1 killed in shootouts
A village volunteer was killed in a gunfight between two warring communities in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district, officials said on Thursday.
The shootout took place on Wednesday night after suspected militants launched an attack on Kangchup from the adjoining hill areas, prompting village volunteers in low-lying locality to retaliate, they said.
The incident was among a series of gunfights that broke out at several places in Imphal valley and the hill areas on Wednesday night.
Following the killing, women in large numbers held a rally in Imphal on Thursday to protest against violence in the state and demanded the removal of the chairman of the inter-agency unified command.
Kuldiep Singh was appointed to the post of chairman of the unified command of the state and central forces in May last year by the Manipur governor.
The women protesters took out the rally from the main market area of Imphal and marched towards the CM’s bungalow and the Raj Bhavan.
They were stopped around 300 metres from the Raj Bhavan, leading to a confrontation between women protesters and security personnel.
Policemen fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob, the officials said.
The demonstration by women was staged after T Manoranjan, the village volunteer, was killed in the Kangchup gunfight on Wednesday night.
According to the officials, a series of gunfights were reported from Phayeng, Kadangband and Koutruk in Imphal West district, Sagolmang in Imphal East, Sinam Kom in Kangpokpi, and Irengbam in Bishnupur.
Security forces rushed to the spots and tried to control the situation, the officials said, adding that several people have been reported injured in these shootouts. (PTI)