Assam Rifles soldier opens fire at colleagues in Manipur near Myanmar border
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The Newz Radar
Imphal: A soldier of the Assam Rifles opened fire at six of his colleagues before shooting himself dead in Manipur on Tuesday (Jan 23) night.
The incident transpired in an Assam Rifles battalion, stationed near the international border with Myanmar in south Manipur. The region used to be a hotbed of the insurgent moment, primarily due to its remoteness from the mainland.
“One Assam Rifles Jawan opened fire on his colleagues injuring six of them (all injured are non-Manipuris); later the individual shot himself. All injured have been evacuated to Military Hospital for further treatment and reported to be stable,” the Manipur Police stated in a press release.
The central paramilitary force, however, claimed that the incident was unrelated to the ongoing conflict in the northeastern state.
“In light of the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur, it is important to share the details of the incident transparently to dispel any potential rumours and avoid any speculation,” stated Assam Rifles.
The soldier who opened fire and later died of self-inflicted bullet injuries had recently returned from vacation. According to reports, he loaded his gun out of the blue in the middle of the night and started spraying bullets.
The non-commissioned officer (NCO) who died, was identified as a Kuki. Meanwhile, the victims are neither Meities nor residents of Manipur.
The incident has perplexed the authorities as all Assam Rifles battalions have mixed class composition including those belonging to various communities from Manipur. They stay united despite the polarisation in society and such incidents have been very few and far in between.
Manipur has been rocked by ethnic violence since May last year. Over 180 people have been killed while tens of thousands have been displaced. The violence started after a court ordered the state government to consider extending special economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education enjoyed by the tribal Kuki people to the majority Meitei population as well.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Meanwhile, Nagas and Kukis constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.
What started with street protests spiralled into an armed conflict. The Narendra Modi-led central government even faced a ‘no-trust motion’ in the Parliament, brought by the newly-minted opposition bloc called INDIA, for failing to address the situation in the state.
