IMPHAL: Armed miscreants abducted a senior police officer and one of his escorts on Tuesday evening in Manipur, stirring fresh tensions in the region.
The Manipur Police confirmed that Additional Superintendent M Amit Singh was forcefully taken from his residence at Wangkei Tokpam Leikai in Imphal East district around 7 pm.
Reportedly, approximately 200 armed individuals stormed Singh’s house, vandalising property and instilling fear in the neighbourhood.
“In the resulting police action, two individuals namely Rabinash Moirangthem, 24 yrs s/o M. Ranjan of Kwakeithel Akham Leikai and Kangujam Bhimsen, 20 yrs c/o K. Abosana of Khongman Bashikhong sustained injuries on their persons and were admitted to JNIMS Hospital, Porompat,” read a post by Manipur Police on social media, on Wednesday.
Despite the prompt arrival of additional security forces, the assailants managed to abduct Singh and one of his escorts.
In response, authorities swiftly mobilised additional forces for a high-stakes rescue operation.
Within hours, the abducted Additional SP and his escort were safely recovered from the Kwakeithel Konjeng Leikai area and immediately transported to Raj Medicity for medical attention.
Police officials revealed that Singh’s home had been targeted due to his previous arrest of six Arambai Tenggol members allegedly involved in vehicle theft.
A case has been registered, and investigations into the incident are ongoing.
However, this disturbing event unfolds against a backdrop of escalating tensions in the Imphal Valley.
Notably, the incident comes days after the Manipur High Court revised its own order dated by eliminating Paragraph 17(iii), which had directed the state government to consider including Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list.
Throughout the proceedings, neither the Manipur government nor the Centre submitted a counter-affidavit, stating they had not received instructions from their authorities.