Imphal Drone Attacks: Director General of Police, Manipur, Rajiv Singh, stressed the urgency of the situation, stating that the state police are in constant communication with the Director General of the elite National Security Guard (NSG) and other experts to seek their immediate support about the recent drone attacks on civilians by the militants using drones and sophisticated weapons.
Two persons – including a woman (31) – were killed and 12 others injured in the attacks by suspected Kuki militants using drones and sophisticated weapons at Sejam Chirang and nearby Koutruk villages in Imphal West and Imphal East districts on Sunday and Monday.
After visiting the villages, the Manipur Police chief reiterated the seriousness of the situation, stating that the bombing using drones is a new and alarming development in Manipur. The Manipur Police has already declared, through social media, that the situation has escalated and that they are taking it with the utmost seriousness.
“I have personally spoken to everybody in Delhi. I have also spoken to DG NSG and his team. Other experts are coming in, and we have formed a high-level committee to look into the drone attack and related other issues.
We have taken the new development very seriously. We will find a solution as soon as possible. All forces are continuing the combing operations to nab the militants,” the DGP told the media.
To a demand to withdraw the central forces from the state, he said that besides the Assam Rifles and Army, many central forces are working in Manipur to restore peace and normalcy.
“The Director General of Assam Rifles came to Manipur on Tuesday and is also trying his best. All forces, in coordination with the state forces, have been working together. Chief Minister Biren Singh also talked to many important persons in Delhi. We would not leave any stone unturned,” Singh said, adding that the state forces alone cannot deal with the situation due to manpower issues, and the support of central forces is urgently required.
The DGP said that the Central government has been providing all kinds of support, and they are equally worried about the situation.
Meanwhile, the DGP has constituted a high-level 5-member multi-agency committee to examine the use of high-tech drones to attack the peripheral areas by Kuki militants.
The high-level committee will be chaired by Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) Ashutosh Kumar Sinha. Senior officials from the Army, Assam Rifles, CRPF, and BSF are also members of the committee.
Amidst the escalated militant attacks, influential BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to withdraw 60,000 central forces from the state, claiming “they are not yielding peace”.
Singh, the son-in-law of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, wrote to the Home Minister that the presence of around 60,000 central forces in Manipur “is not yielding peace. Thus, it’s better to remove such forces, who are mostly present as mute spectators.”
On Sunday, militants reportedly used high-tech drones to deploy rocket-propelled grenades, killing one civilian woman and injuring numerous others, including three police officers.
Subsequently, on Monday, another three civilians were injured in a drone-based bomb attack on Senjam Chirang village in Manipur’s Imphal West district.
Manipur Police said in a news release that security forces were on the scene to repel the onslaught. Security forces recovered a drone from Kharam Vaipheii on Monday in Kangpokpi district.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has condemned the incident as an act of terrorism.
For more updates Subscribe to Media Eye News
–IANS
