Weapons recovered by Manipur police on Monday.
Photo credit: Manipur police
Guwahati: A sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) at Moreh, a border town near India's border with Myanmar in Manipur, was shot dead allegedly by armed Kuki miscreants on Tuesday morning.
Two other policemen were also injured after armed miscreants attacked another police team which was rushed from Imphal to Moreh following the attack.
Police sources said the first incident took place at around 9.30am when Chingtham Anand Kumar, a Manipur Police Service officer was inspecting a newly constructed helipad at Moreh. Anand, who was also serving as Officer-in-charge of Moreh police station, was rushed to a hospital but he succumbed to his injuries. Police suspect that a sniper was used to carry out the attack on a police team led by Anand, a Meitei.
The Manipur government convened an emergent Cabinet meeting following the incident after which it claimed that unprovoked firing by armed Kuki militants led to the killing of Kumar.
"He was killed in unprovoked firing by armed Kuki militants while he was on duty overseeing the cleaning of the grounds of Eastern Shine School for construction of a helipad, jointly by the state force and BSF. The Cabinet condemned the dastardly act in strongest terms," said an official statement.
The incident comes days after some tribal organisations demanded removal of Manipur police from the border town of Moreh. Police arrested several Myanmar nationals who were allegedly involved in theft cases in the border town. But tribal organisations alleged that police action was targeted towards the tribals.
More than 180 people have died and over 60,000 others have been displaced due to the clashes between the majority Meiteis and Kuki tribes since May. There were no major violent incidents in the past few weeks but Tuesday's attack at Moreh raised concerns about a fresh conflict erupting. The Manipur government recently said 11 security personnel, including Manipur police and army personnel, had died during the violence.
Moreh, situated in Tengnoupal district, is a Kuki-dominated border town in Tengnoupal district. Hundreds of Meiteis had fled the town after the clashes broke out on May 3 and houses and shops were burnt down by miscreants.
The Cabinet approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 50 lakh as compensation for the death of Kumar, considering the special duty in a special area. A suitable government employment shall also be provided to the next-of-kin of the deceased martyr, said the statement.
"The Cabinet directed for launching a joint operation in Moreh and adjoining areas to nab the culprits responsible for the crime, and to continue the same till the culprits are arrested. Cabinet also noted that additional state forces have been detailed from Imphal for the purpose. The operations have since started," it further said.
Reacting to the Cabinet's response to the killing, Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a Kuki organisation on Tuesday evening asked why the state government did not take proper step after a Kuki policeman, sub-inspector Onkhomang Haokip, was similarly killed by "Meitei miscreants" on September 13. A meagre ex-gratia was announced for Haokip's family, ITLF said.