Displaced Manipur Police commando dies after shooting himself; govt vows IDP resettlement

A displaced Manipur Police commando havildar died after allegedly shooting himself at a family quarter inside the Commando Complex at Minuthong in Imphal West on Monday evening, September 7, a police officer said.

The incident took place around 4.15 pm under the jurisdiction of Imphal Police Station. The havildar, a resident of Khumujamba Leikai in Churachandpur district, had been displaced along with his family since the ethnic violence erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023.

He was serving with the Imphal West Commando unit on attachment from the 7th Manipur Rifles.

Following the incident, the havildar was rushed to Raj Medicity Hospital in Imphal with a gunshot wound to his head. He later succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead by the hospital authorities around 6.30 pm.

The circumstances that led to the incident are being ascertained, the officer said.

The death occurred on the final day of the Manipur Assembly session, during which Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam said the state government remained committed to the resettlement and rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (IDPs), but the process would be completed once the law-and-order situation improves.

Konthoujam was responding to a question by Congress MLA Kangujam Ranjit Singh on the government's plans to compensate IDPs for the loss of their movable property during the ongoing crisis.

The home minister informed the Assembly that no compensation has so far been provided to IDPs for losses of movable assets.

Asked about a specific timeline for compensation, Konthoujam said the government would examine the issue after completing the resettlement and rehabilitation of the displaced persons.

Earlier, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh told the Assembly that around 36,000 of the approximately 60,000 people displaced by the violence since May 3, 2023, had been resettled.

Around 24,000 displaced persons continue to stay in relief camps across the state, he said.

Despite the resettlement of around 36,000 IDPs, the government continues to provide financial assistance to around 59,000 displaced persons, the chief minister informed the House.