AIZAWL: A suspected Kuki militant on Tuesday gunned down a police officer in the India-Myanmar border town of Moreh in Manipur.
The victim, Chingtham Anand, a sub-divisional police officer was on duty, overseeing the cleaning of the Eastern Shine School grounds for the construction of a helipad, jointly by state force and BSF, when the militants fired at him.
Anand was grievously injured and rushed to a local primary health centre but he succumbed to his injuries.
Reacting to the violence, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
“Deeply saddened by the cold-blooded killing of SDPO Chingtham Anand, OC Moreh Police this morning. His dedication to serve and protect the people will always be remembered,” Singh wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Tribal Kukis are in a majority in Moreh and earlier, some Kuki organisations demanded the removal of state forces from the town.
The Manipur cabinet, which met to deliberate on the emergent law and order situation, condemned the incident. It noted that peace could be maintained for nearly two months as both sides of the ethnic conflict were exercising restraint.
“While a sense of normalcy was slowly settling in, an MPS officer has been killed today in unprovoked firing by armed Kuki militants…” a government statement said.
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The cabinet approved ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh and a suitable government job to the next of kin of the slain cop. It directed forces to launch a joint operation in Moreh and adjoining areas to nab the culprits. Additional state forces were rushed to Moreh.
It was further decided that no illegal armed personnel shall be permitted in and around Moreh, considering the strategic position of the town under India’s Act East Policy.
The cabinet noted that an organization, named World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council, issued a press release on October 24 calling upon the Kuki-Zo community that during this November, before the harvesting season, the community would face another war and arms and ammunition should, therefore, be insufficient stock.
“It further informed that the youth volunteers would be the ones going to face the war on the frontlines and that its national army/UG groups will join the youth volunteers only in critical situations…” the statement said.