Imphal, Nov 18: Manipur government has decided to hand over the case of November 13 militant attack in Churachandpur district bordering Myanmar, in which 7 persons were killed including an Assam Rifles Colonel, his wife, son and four jawans of the paramilitary force, to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for probe.
This was informed by Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh while speaking at the 12th annual award presentation ceremony of the Manipur State Award for Literature 2020 on Thursday.
The reason of this, according to a senior Home Department official, is because the militant attack has many dimensions to it including international links and only a central agency probe can unearth the genuine details.
Militants of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Manipur Naga People’s Front (MNPF) in a joint attack killed Assam Rifles Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife, their nine-year-old son and four jawans of the paramilitary force in an ambush on November 13 when Col Tripathi and his convoy was returning from a visit to a forward post.
After the incident, security forces recovered a large cache of powerful Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), fitted to a mobile phone handset and digital watch, from three separate locations in Manipur.
Security forces, including the army and the Assam Rifles, have been put on high alert in Manipur after Saturday’s terror attack, the deadliest in the region in recent times.
Meanwhile militant activities in the northeastern state have increased months ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. Elections to the 60-seat Manipur Assembly are likely to be held in February-March next year, along with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa.
