Children & Women Missing After Encounter with Militants
Manipur:Three children and three women have gone missing from Manipur’s Jiribam district following a fierce encounter between suspected Kuki insurgents and security forces. The incident, which took place near the Assam border, has left the local community shaken.
During a press conference today, Manipur Police revealed that the 10 militants killed in the encounter were heavily armed, with enough firepower to create significant chaos in the region. A senior police officer stated that the insurgents launched their attack at around 2:30 PM yesterday on the Borobekra police station before moving towards a nearby CRPF camp, located just a few hundred meters away.
Security forces, including the Assam Rifles, Border Security Force (BSF), and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), have since launched a search operation to locate the missing individuals. “The missing persons include three women and three children. If fired upon, the security forces will retaliate,” the officer said.
The police further confirmed that, in addition to the missing civilians, 13 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were reported missing from the area. Of those, two were found dead, five have been located, and six remain unaccounted for. The bodies of the two deceased individuals, both senior citizens from the Meitei community, were discovered inside a building set on fire by the militants.
The militants involved in the attack were armed with rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, INSAS, and AK assault rifles. The CRPF forces returned fire after coming under attack. The gunfight lasted for approximately 45 minutes, and following its conclusion, 10 militant bodies were recovered from the site.
Authorities are continuing their efforts to locate the missing individuals, while the situation in Jiribam remains tense.
