- Two people were detained in Manipur in connection with the Assam Rifles convoy ambush
- A van linked to the ambush was recovered near the incident site in Imphal
- Two Assam Rifles soldiers were killed and five injured in the attack on their convoy
Two people were detained from Manipur on Saturday in connection with the ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy earlier this week that killed two soldiers and injured five others. A van, suspected to have been used in the incident, was also recovered from Mutum Yangbi in Imphal - nearly 12 km from the incident site, officials said.
According to the police, the recovered vehicle has multiple owners, all of whom are identified.
"During the last 24 hours, the overall law-and-order situation in the state was tense but under control. In the follow-up to the incident at Nambol Sabal Leikai in which two personnel of the Assam Rifles were martyred, security forces carried out a massive operation in Shantipur and Ishok areas," the statement read.
Two soldiers of the Assam Rifles, identified as Naib Subedar Shyam Gurung and Rifleman Ranjit Singh Kashyap, were killed in action on Friday after their truck was ambushed by a group of terrorists on the outskirts of Manipur's Imphal. Officials said that the terrorists fired at the paramilitary forces' 407 Tata vehicle while it was travelling from its Patsoi company operating base to Nambol base at 5.50 pm. This is on the same road that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken during his recent visit to Manipur.
"In the general area, Nambol Sabal Leikai, the column was ambushed by unidentified terrorists on the Highway in the denotified area of Manipur. In the ensuing action, two personnel of the Assam Rifles were martyred and five were injured," an official statement read.
The injured soldiers were taken to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal for treatment.
A day after the incident, a high-level meeting was held, chaired by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, to discuss boosting security arrangements in vulnerable and sensitive areas of Manipur. Top state government officials and senior police personnel were present in the meeting.
"The discussion stressed the need for coordinated action among all security agencies to ensure swift identification of the perpetrators. It was also resolved that security arrangements must be further strengthened in vulnerable and sensitive areas, including highways, transit routes, and border zones," the Raj Bhavan said.
Manipur has witnessed ethnic violence between two communities, the Meitei community and the Kuki tribes, since 2023, over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation. Over 260 have died in the violence, and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced.
