Imphal: Hundreds of people, mostly women, took out a protest rally and staged a sit-in at Nambol Sabal Leikai under the Nambol police station in Manipur‘s Bishnupur district on Saturday.
The protesters chanted slogans, “We condemn the attacks on Assam Rifles,” and We condemn the acts at the public places.”
The rally cum sit-in protest was held under the aegis of the joint coordinating committee of the Nambol Sabal Leikai Meira Paibis, [Nambol Sabal Leikai Apunba Meira Paibis, (NSLAMP)] on Saturday.
The protests erupted a day after the unidentified armed miscreants ambushed personnel of the 33 Assam Rifles by opening fire at their Tata 407 vehicle while it was coming from the Imphal side towards Bishnupur at Nambol Sabal Leikai, under Nambol Police Station, Bishnupur District. In the incident, 02 (two) Assam Rifles personnel, namely (1) Nb. Sub. Shyam Gurung (58) of Nepal (2) Rfn. GD Kashav (29) of Chhattisgarh was martyred, while 05 (five) other AR personnel were injured.
The injured personnel were immediately evacuated for medical treatment at RIMS, Imphal. Several social organisations, including NSLAMP, strongly condemn the violent acts committed by the errant perpetrators.
The convenor of the NSLAMP, L. Sorojini Devi, appealed to the armed men to eschew the path of violence for the restoration of peace in this volatile border state. If the armed men have any intention to commit the crimes, it would be better to perform in secluded places, not in crowded areas like Nambol Sabal Leikai.
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Meanwhile, officials said that additional security forces have been rushed to the spot. Search and combing operations are being undertaken in and around the area to track down the perpetrators. Soon after, top police and Assam Rifles officers, including Inspector General of Assam Rifles (South) came and inspected the ambush site.
So far, no suspect has been arrested, nor has any group claimed responsibility for the deadly ambush. Reports that all the shops in the adjoining areas shut down their shutters soon after the ambush.