Gunfight occurs before Rahul Gandhi’s Manipur visit; 2 apprehended

PTC News Desk: Shortly before Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, arrived in the violent state of Manipur on Monday, a group of armed militants attacked police in Phaiton hamlet in the Tamenglong district.

Around 6-7 kilometers separate Phaiton in Tamenglong district from Gularthol village in Jiribam district, which is the next village.

The Jiribam police claim to have received information at approximately three in the morning on Monday regarding the arson of a police outpost located in Phaiton village by an unidentified group of miscreants. In response to the information, a team of fire fighters and district police raced to the location. But miscreants with guns, already positioned in Phaiton village, started shooting at the soldiers. Additionally, the forces inside the Casspir retaliated. Lathode bombs were employed by the armed miscreants to subdue the military. For several minutes, there was constant gunfire exchanged.

Along the Phaiton hills, a search and rescue team comprising members of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Assam Rifles (AR) swiftly arrived at the location. The gunfire halted at about five in the morning, and the united squad managed to capture two individuals from Phaiton village along with a few firearms.

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The Tamenglong district police received the two arrested individuals for additional investigation. Although there were no confirmed casualties from the event, the fire tender’s front mirror sustained damage.

The incident may not have anything to do with Rahul Gandhi’s visitation to the district, according to the Jiribam police.

The unrest in Manipur since May 3 of last year has resulted in over 200 deaths and over 60,000 displaced people. There are still a lot of unaccounted for deaths.

After two to three months of relative calm, violence broke out again on June 6 following the discovery of a deceased 59-year-old man in Jiribam area. Recently, a police outpost located in Phaiton village was set on fire by some unidentified miscreants.

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