Representative image showing soldiers.
Credit: PTI Photo
Guwahati: A CRPF jawan from Bihar was killed and three other security persons were injured on Sunday morning during a gunfight in Manipur's Jiribam district, which has remained on the boil for more than a month now.
Sources in security forces said that the CRPF personnel, identified as Ajay Kumar Jha, received bullet injuries on his head during an exchange of fire with armed persons suspected to be belonging to the Kuki community at Mongbung village in Jiribam. Jha later succumbed to his injuries. Another CRPF personnel and two commandos of Manipur police also received bullet injuries, sources said.
Condemning the incident, Manipur CM N Biren Singh said that Kuki insurgents were suspected to be behind the attack. "His supreme sacrifice in the line of duty will not go in vain," Singh posted on X.
Meitei Heritage Society and Jiri Apunba Lup, two organisations representing the Meitei community, also endorsed Singh's claim about involvement of Kuki insurgents in the attack. They said the CRPF personnel stepped in when armed miscreants belonging to the Kuki-Zo community attacked a Meitei village on Sunday morning. The armed miscreants belonging to Kuki National Army (B), an insurgent group, attacked the security forces leading to the death of Jha and injuries to three others, they said.
However, Kuki Inpi, Manipur, the apex body of the Kuki-Zo communities, claimed that the incident took place when Manipur police and armed persons belonging to Meitei armed group Arambai Tenggol attacked Kuki houses in Sejang and Mongbung villages at around 9.40 am. It alleged that CRPF personnel failed to maintain neutrality and colluded with the Meitei armed persons under the command of a CRPF DIG, who is a Meitei. The organisation demanded intervention from the Centre to stop the attack on Kuki villages.
Jiribam earlier remained out of the Meitei-Kuki conflict which roiled Manipur since May last year. However, violence started again in June this year after a Meitei man was found murdered. Several houses were burnt leading to displacement of villagers belonging to both Meitei and Kuki communities.