Two CRPF men killed in Manipur attack, 1st strike on peacekeepers in state

GUWAHATI: Two personnel from 128 Battalion of CRPF lost their lives and two colleagues were wounded in an attack by unidentified militants at 12.15am Saturday in Manipur’s Bishnupur district. This was the first attack on a Central Armed Police Force deployed for peacekeeping duties in the state since the ethnic conflict began in May last year.
The deceased men have been identified as sub-inspector N Sarkar (55) of Bhombrabil village in Assam’s Kokrajhar district and head constable Arup Saini of Panchal village in Bengal’s Bankura district.Both wounded men are from Assam — inspector Jadav Das and constable Aftab Ul Husain. They have been admitted to RIIMS Hospital in Imphal and their condition is stable.

The attack with gunfire and bombs happened in stormy conditions and darkness deep inside the buffer zone separating the hills and Imphal valley. “The militants shot at the camp’s residents. Security forces retaliated but four CRPF men were hit. Two of them died,” Manipur security advisor and former CRPF DG Kuldiep Singh said.
The CRPF post was established in that location to provide additional security after mobs looted hundreds of weapons from the armoury of nearby 2nd India Reserve Battalion camp on August 3 last year. “The two communities refer to these forces as neutral. So, why attack them? They will have to pay a heavy price in accordance with the law. We will put all agencies to find out who has done it,” Singh said.
In a separate gunfight between two groups, a villager was killed in a village bordering Kangpkopi and Imphal East districts the previous evening.