Manipur crackdown: 7 held with illegal firearms during probe into deadly Assam Rifles ambush

Security forces have arrested seven people from Manipur's hill and valley districts for allegedly possessing illegal firearms during a series of operations, including an ongoing investigation into the deadly ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy in Ukhrul district earlier this month.

According to police, four residents of Sikibung village in Ukhrul district were apprehended on Tuesday during a targeted operation launched to trace those involved in the July 6 ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy at Shangshak near Nungshang Khong, around 17 km from the district headquarters. The attack claimed the lives of two Assam Rifles personnel.

During the operation, security forces seized two single-barrel breech-loading (SBBL) guns, live SBBL cartridges and a wireless communication set from the four accused.

In a separate operation on Wednesday, security forces arrested an active cadre of the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party-MC (Progressive) from Khurai Ahongei in Imphal East district for allegedly possessing an illegal firearm.

Police also arrested two more individuals from Khurai Lairikyengbam in Imphal East on the same day. A pistol, two magazines and 11 live rounds of ammunition were recovered from their possession.

The arrests come amid intensified search operations and area domination exercises being carried out by security forces across vulnerable hill and valley regions of the state following the ethnic violence that erupted in May 2023.

More than 260 people have been killed and thousands displaced in the prolonged ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities, prompting continued security operations to curb militancy and illegal arms movement across the state.