One Assam Rifles jawan martyred and another injured in Manipur blast
An Assam Rifles jawan was killed and another injured in a suspected improvised explosive device blast in Manipur‘s Thaubal district on Wednesday.
The device was reportedly detonated at around 1.45am when 16 Assam Rifles personnel were patrolling near a reservoir on the east side of Imphal-Moreh Highway in Usoipokpi Sangamsang area, about 4 km south of Lilong police station.
The Assam Rifles identified the dead as El Wangshu, 30, and the injured as Pinku Das, 25.
Security forces rushed to the scene shortly after the blast, but no arrests were made.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the statement said.
A Lilong police official said: “A case has been filed in connection with the incident and an investigation is underway.”
Wednesday’s IED blast was the fourth such blast in Manipur in 50 days, though no arrests have been made. Also, no terrorist organization or opposition group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast.
The three previous incidents of November 18, December 15 and December 29 last year also occurred in the first hour, but no one was injured in those blasts, although property was damaged.
Security forces, including the army and the Assam Rifles, were killed, especially after the deadliest terrorist attack in the region on 13 November, in which a colonel of the Assam Rifles, his wife and son and four paramilitary personnel were killed. In the Churachandpur district bordering Myanmar.
In the months leading up to the Manipur assembly elections, terrorist activity has increased in the northeastern state, with officials urging security forces to step up surveillance in sensitive and high-risk areas.
With Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa, the 60-seat Manipur Assembly elections are likely to be held in February-March this year.
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