Our Correspondent
IMPHAL, June 5
The Chief of Army staff General Dalbir Singh Suhag flew in to Imphal on Friday to take stock of the situation a day after militants ambushed a convoy of the 6th Dogra Regiment in Manipur’s Chandel district bordering Myanmar, killing 18 soldiers and wounding at least 11 others.
Meanwhile, army and Assam Rifles launched a massive combing operation involving hundreds of soldiers on foot, with the support of helicopters in the remote mountainous hilly terrains of Chandel district close to Myanmar, sources from Chandel said.
However, there was no report of any arrest or unwanted incident during the course of the operations. Neither army officials nor Assam Rifles authority could be contacted for further information.
Even the residents of Imphal have witnessed military choppers hovering above the town, towards the border and Leimakhong army headquarters since this morning.
Three rebels groups National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) or NSCN (K), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), have claimed responsibility for the attack –considered as the deadliest in over three decades in the state.
They fired rocket-propelled grenades, detonated improvised explosive devices and peppered the trucks with machine guns. Two of the military trucks carrying soldiers caught fire.
Interestingly other reports have claimed that Thursday’s incident could have been provoked by the May 31 killing of a woman leader, allegedly by personnel of 20 Assam Rifles, following which a strike was imposed on Indo-Myanmar route for a day.
Meanwhile, the post mortem examinations of the 18 slain soldiers, 7 from Himachal Pradesh, 6 from Jammu and Kashmir, 2 from Uttar Pradesh, one each from Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Punjab besides the deceased militant, have been conducted at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) mortuary in Imphal while the dead body of sepoy (driver) JK Kushwaha (39) has been flown to his native Rewa district (Madhya Pradesh). All the slain soldiers were aged below 40. The deceased personnel have been identified as Junior Commission Officer Naik Subedar Ram Singh (39) from Samba district, Havildar Sunil Kumar of Rajouri, Havildars Randeep (39), Satpal Bhasin (40), Lance Naik Kuldeep Raj (33), Sepoy Vijay kumar(27) all from Jammu district under J&K.
Those from Himachal Pradesh include Havildar Prakash Chand(37),Sepoys Manojkumar(31),Vikas Bharadwaj(26), all from Mandi district, Havildar Rajeshkumar(39) of Bilaspur district,Lance Naik Rajneesh (36) from Kangra, Naik Ashokumar (36) of Simaur district, and Sepoy Sohan Singh (26) Sirmour district.
Those from Uttar Pradesh are Sepoys Ram Prasad Yadav (40) from the district of Faizabad and Jagveer Singh P (26) from GB Nagar while those from Karnataka, MP and Punjab are Bharatshwar (32) of Belgaum, sepoy(driver)JK Kushwaha(39) and Manjit Singh(24) of Pathankot.
A police source said the remaining bodies are likely to be sent on Saturday to their native places after a floral tribute ceremony. In the meantime, police has registered a case in connection with Thursday’s incident after conducting an on-spot inquiry.
Observing that the army is here to give protectin from internal and external disturbances, besides helping the civil administration, the Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur, Gaikhangam stated that the state will provide assistance to the para-military forces to tackle insurgency problem. Gaikhangam was speaking to reporters briefly while attending a world environment day function in Imphal today.
