4 min readGuwahati, ImphalJul 15, 2024 09:20 PM IST
First published on: Jul 14, 2024 at 03:16 PM IST
A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) man was killed and two Manipur police personnel were injured when they were “ambushed” Sunday, around six kilometres from the centre of Jiribam town.
Police and the Manipur government said “suspected Kuki militants” were behind the ambush.
The CRPF jawan who was shot dead was identified as Ajay Kumar Jha (43), a native of Bihar. His body was taken for post-mortem to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital. His killing comes around three months after two CRPF personnel were killed in a blast at a CRPF outpost in Bishnupur district.
The two wounded police personnel received pellet injuries and are reported to be stable.
Jiribam district has been tense since the outbreak of violence and arson there on June 6 this year.
According to police, the area where the incident took place, between Sejang Kuki village and Mongbung Meitei village, had been tense following heavy firing on Thursday, after which police had recovered arms and ammunition.
Jiribam Superintendent of Police Pradip Singh said a team of CRPF and police had been sent to Mongbung on Sunday morning to “check the deployment there”.
“The joint team left at around 9 am. There are civil police and CRPF (personnel) already deployed there, but we were informed last night that sounds of gunfire had been heard. So, the joint team had gone to cross-check, they were not there on an operation. This team came under fire. Their vehicles were moving below and they were ambushed from four or five locations in nearby hills,” he said.
He said that the deceased jawan was the driver of a CRPF vehicle that was moving ahead of the police.
Upon being ambushed, the police and CRPF personnel retaliated, and by noon, the firing had stopped and they were able to move out of the area, the SP said.
A police officer said that one member of the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) – one of the groups under the Suspension of Operations agreement with the government – was also seriously injured in the shootout. He was identified as Haoneithang Vaiphei of Kangvai VII. He is reportedly undergoing treatment at Silchar Medical College hospital and said to be in a critical condition.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh condemned the incident in a post on X. “I strongly condemn the killing of a CRPF personnel in an attack carried out by an armed group, suspected to be Kuki militants, in Jiribam district today. His supreme sacrifice in the line of duty shall not go in vain. I further extend my sincere condolences to the bereaved family of the deceased soldier, while praying for the speedy recovery of the ones injured during the attack.”
Unlike many other instances of such exchanges of fire in Manipur, which have taken places close to the borders of Meitei-majority and Kuki-Zomi districts adjoining each other, this incident took place close to the district headquarters of Jiribam, which has a mixed population.
Jiribam is a small district neighbouring Assam’s Cachar. It had been relatively calm until June 6, when a Meitei resident, Soibam Sarathkumar Singh, was found murdered. Following that, homes of Kuki-Zo residents in and around Jiribam town – where Meiteis are in majority – had been torched, resulting in over 1,000 Kuki-Zo people being displaced from the district and seeking shelter in Cachar.
Subsequently, homes of Meitei families living in the Borobekra division of Jiribam district, close to areas where Zo people are in majority, were burnt. This resulted in the displacement of over 900 people from this area, who are sheltering in relief camps in the district.
Women and children have also moved out of places like Sejang village, which is close to Jiribam town.
A joint team of central and state forces was reportedly conducting a search operation on Sunday after an exchange of fire with militants on Saturday night, when the team was again attacked by armed miscreants. (Representational Photo) 
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