A commanding officer from Assam Rifles, his wife and six-year-old son, besides four personnel of the paramilitary force were killed on Saturday in Manipur in a fresh eruption of militant violence in the northeastern state.
Colonel Viplav Tripathi, commanding officer of the Khuga Battalion of Assam Rifles, and the six others were travelling in a convoy when it was attacked at Sehkan village in Churachandpur district around 11am.
In a joint statement, two banned militant organisations — the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Manipur Naga People’s Front (MNPF) — claimed responsibility for the ambush.
These two organisations, along with the Ulfa-Independent, had in July last year killed three Assam Rifles personnel in Manipur’s Chandel district.
Saturday’s incident marks the first major attack on security forces in Manipur since June 4, 2018, when an army convoy was targeted in Chandel, resulting in the death of 18 personnel.
The state, which was for decades in the throes of insurgency, had largely been calm since.
The militants greeted the convoy on Saturday with a hail of bullets fired from hilltops covered in thick foliage. Improvised explosive devices were also hurled at the vehicles.
Condemning the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the sacrifices of the soldiers and their families would never be forgotten.
“I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the Modi government. “The terrorist attack on the army convoy in Manipur once again proves that the Modi government is not capable of protecting the nation,” Rahul said in a tweet in Hindi.
Assam Rifles said in a statement that “five soldiers, including Col Viplav Tripathi, commanding officer of 46 Assam Rifles, have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. The family of the commanding officer, i.e. his wife and child, also lost their lives in the incident.”
The statement added: “The DG and all ranks of Assam Rifles offer condolences to the brave soldiers and families of the deceased.”
Defence minister Rajnath Singh promised “justice” to the bereaved families. “The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur, is extremely painful and condemnable. The nation has lost 5 brave soldiers, including CO 46 AR, and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon,” he tweeted.
Assam Rifles, the country’s oldest paramilitary force, was raised in 1835 during British rule. It is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Union home ministry but its operational control rests with the Indian Army.
Col Tripathi, the slain officer, had previously served in Mizoram before being transferred to Manipur in July 2021.
“During his tenure in Mizoram, under his able and energetic leadership, the battalion has been at the forefront in border management, thwarting illegal smuggling in the IMB (India-Myanmar border) and the hinterland. The battalion has also recovered several weapons and war-like stores that could have landed in the hands of anti-national elements, thus avoiding major casualties,” the Assam Rifles statement said.
“Col Viplav through his remarkable endeavours had bonded closely with the locals of Mizoram. The anti-drug campaign conducted by his battalion in January 2021 received several laurels and praise and the awareness was rightfully created by him in the entire state, including the remote villages to ensure the youth are guided in the right direction.”
Assam Rifles said Tripathi’s “goodwill for the society will last an eternity”.
Initially, the force had said it suspected that the insurgent group responsible for the massacre “must be from PREPAK cadre as the PREPAK remembrance day is celebrated on 12/13 November 2021”.
The PREPAK (People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak) demands a separate and independent homeland.
