At least two personnel of the 33 Assam Rifles were killed and four injured on Friday when armed assailants ambushed their vehicle in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, police said.
The attack occurred at around 5.40 pm at Nambol Sabal Leikai, roughly eight kilometres from Imphal airport. The truck carrying the troops came under sudden gunfire, leaving casualties on site before reinforcements arrived.
“This is the first deadly assault on central security forces in Manipur since last year,” a senior police officer said. The last such incident took place in Jiribam district, near Assam’s Cachar border, when a CRPF jawan was killed and three others, including two CRPF and two Manipur police personnel, were injured in a similar ambush.
Officials noted that the attack comes just two days ahead of a proposed bandh called by valley-based militant groups, protesting the 1949 Manipur merger agreement. Security forces have since launched combing operations in the surrounding areas to track the attackers.
Local authorities have also increased patrols and strengthened checkpoints along key routes near Imphal to prevent further incidents. Police investigations are ongoing, and the injured personnel are reported to be in stable condition at a nearby hospital.
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