Assam Rifles Jawan Opens Fire at Colleagues Before Killing Himself in South Manipur; 6 Injured

An Assam Rifles (AR) solider shot himself dead after opening fire at his colleagues close to the Indo-Myanmar border in South Manipur. The incident left six soldiers injured, who were then taken to a military hospital in the Churachandpur.

The incident took place within the premises of the AR battalion. The soldier — belonging to the violence-hit state’s Churachandpur — was identified as a Kuki. He later succumbed to his injuries, a Hindustan Times report said.

People aware of the incident noted that the victims of the incident were neither Meities nor did they belong to Manipur.

Authorities are investigating the matter, however, they noted that the motive behind the shooting is yet to be ascertained.

Issuing a statement in this regard, Assam Rifles said that the details of the tragic incident are being shared transparently to “dispel any potential rumours”, adding that the incident “should not be correlated with ongoing conflict, given the fact that none of the injured are from Manipur”.

“All Assam Rifles battalions have mixed class composition including those belonging to various communities from Manipur. All personnel have been staying and operating together despite polarization of society to maintain peace and stability in Manipur,” the statement added.

This comes a week after five civilians from the Meitei community were killed and four Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were injured in two separate incidents of violence in Manipur.

State Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh had mentioned the possibility of the involvement of Myanmar-based militants, but said that there is “no evidence” yet.

A day before this two police personnel were killed and six others were injured in an attack by armed assailants in Tengnoupal.

In addition to the incidents of violence, miscreants also attempted to loot weapons from police establishments in the Thoubal district of the valley on the night of January 17 and three BSF personnel sustained injuries during the encounter.

The mobs had targetted the 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion in Thoubal’s Khangabok and Thoubal Police Headquarters.

Manipur has been embroiled in ethnic violence since May last year due to the clash between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. The violence led to the displacement of nearly 50,00 people and death of at least 207.