An Assam Rifles soldier allegedly opened fire at six of his colleagues before shooting himself in Manipur on Wednesday. The incident occurred in an Assam Rifles battalion deployed near the Indo-Myanmar border in south Manipur.
All the six soldiers (all non-natives of Manipur) fired at by the Assam Rifles jawan were injured in the incident. They were evacuated to Military Hospital for further treatment and reported to be stable.
Assam Rifles released a statement saying there was no relation whatsoever of this particular incident to the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.
“In light of the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur, it is important to share the details of the incident transparently to dispel any potential rumours and avoid any speculation. This unfortunate incident should not be correlated with ongoing conflict, given the fact that none of the injured are from Manipur,” the statement by PRO of IG AR read.
“An investigation into the incident has been ordered to ascertain the facts”, the statement further said.
“All Assam Rifles battalions have mixed class composition including those belonging to various communities from Manipur. All personnel have been staying and operating together despite polarisation of society to maintain peace and stability in Manipur,” the statement added.
The solider who open fired at his colleagues hails from Churachandpur in Manipur and had recently joined duty in Assam Rifles, Hindustan Times report citied official aware of the matter as saying.
“Police will probe the incident… Police will probe the reasons for this fratricide incident,” the report quoted officials as saying.
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Manipur: Close to Indo-Myanmar border, Assam Rifles jawan frags 6 colleagues, kills self
