Imphal: Ruling MLA Leishiyo Keishing on Monday urged the Manipur government to immediately step in and secure the state’s border if the Assam Rifles fails to protect it.
His demand follows the September 24 killing of four Naga civilians by alleged KNA-B militants in Pilong village, located in Kamjong district near the Myanmar border.
Speaking to the media after a two-day assessment of border villages from September 25 to 26, the legislator from the Kamjong Scheduled Tribe reserved constituency criticised the closure of a vital police outpost at Skipe and questioned why the state had left the border unprotected.
According to Keishing, repeated incursions by foreign militants have completely deserted several border villages, including Pilong, Skipe, Aloyo, Choro, Namlee and Wanglee, creating an impression that they have been taken over by a foreign country.
He said that although the government had been requested to deploy three companies of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) to the region, immediate state action remained critical for the resettlement of displaced villagers.
Residents and Pilong village headman Zingmin Jajo stated that requests for adequate security reinforcements had previously been ignored by authorities, despite the heavy presence of heavily armed KNA-B militants just across the Myanmar border.
He added that the victims were part of a local rotational civilian watch group guarding the village when the attack occurred.
Efforts to develop Pilong as a regional trade centre have faced setbacks since 2016 due to ethnic conflict and recent border violence.