Five personnel of Assam Rifles and two of their family members lost their lives after their convoy was ambushed by a group of terrorists in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Saturday.
The convoy of Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles, Colonel Viplav Tripathy was attacked by terrorists in the Singhat sub-division. The officer was travelling with his family members and a Quick Reaction Team when the attack happened.
The officer and his wife and 8-year-old son died on the spot, while four soldiers were also killed in the attack.
Four other soldiers also sustained injuries in the attack, said Army.
“Terrorists first carried out an IED blast to ambush the convoy of 46 Assam Rifles Commanding Officer Colonel Viplav Tripathi and then fired at the vehicles in Churachandpur in Manipur. The officer was returning from his forward company base to his battalion headquarters,” said Army officials, ANI reported.
Expressing anguish over the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the sacrifice of the martyred soldiers will never be forgotten.
“Strongly condemn the attack on the Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur. I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness,” he tweeted.
Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh strongly condemned the ambush and said he will do his best to book the culprits legally.
It is inhumane and a terrorist act that should not fade away in silence without any legal action being taken, he added.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also deplored the attack and said that the perpetrators will be brought to justice soon.
“The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur is extremely painful & condemnable. The nation has lost 5 brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon,” he said in a tweet.
Manipur, like many of the north-eastern states, is home to dozens of armed groups, fighting for either greater autonomy or secession.
The Manipur-based People’s Liberation Army is suspected to be behind the attack.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that the security forces have identified 38 Pakistani terrorists active in the Kashmir valley and a coordinated operation will be launched soon to neutralise them.
The sources said on Friday that out of 38 ultras, 27 belong to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and 11 are from Jaish-e Mohammad (JeM) and they are on the radar of the security forces.
They also said that the locations of these ultras have been traced, which have been spread in Srinagar, Pulwama, Baramulla and Kulgam and other parts of the valley while some of them might be hiding in the forest areas too.
