Dimapur, Dec 16: The establishment of the Assam Rifles has refuted what was stated to be media reports that the security force failed to respond to distress calls of the police at Lokchao in Manipur recently.
The Assam Rifles issued a press release to the media on Friday. “The reports published in various newspapers on 16 Dec 16 indicating that Assam Rifles was not guarding the NH-102 and did not respond to distress calls of the police personnel are false and mischievous,” the press release stated.
According to the establishment, the site of the ambush was three kms away from “Lokchao COB and eight km from Khongkhan COB” on NH-102.
“There was no road opening operation planned on the road from Tengnoupal to Moreh on 15 Dec 16. Road opening and convoy protection is a specialised operation which is planned considering the requirement and is time specific to avoid routine setting in. The complete ambush was over in three to five minutes and the Assam Rifles QRTs reached the ambush site within 15 to 20 minutes, the earliest timeframe considering the distance,” the Assam Rifles stated.
Besides “sanitisation, domination and search of the area,” the Assam Rifles stated, an ambulance was provided to evacuate injured police personnel by the Assam Rifles immediately.
“These injured personnel were also administered first aid at Tengnoupal COB before moving them to Imphal for further treatment. AR has always stood besides the state administration and operated in close coordination with Manipur police. Such allegations and fabricated reports are engineered by inimical forces to create disturbance and malaise in the environment,” the press release stated.
It added that the security forces and the police were ‘working tirelessly to maintain peace’ in the state of Manipur.
