Imphal: At the Imphal airport Sunday, wreaths were laid to honour the seven people who were killed in a terrorist ambush in Churachandpur district of Manipur the previous day.
Those killed included Col. Viplav Tripathi, commanding officer of an Assam Rifles battalion, his wife Anuja, eight-year-old son Abeer, and four soldiers — Suman Swargiary, Khatnei Konyak, R.P. Meena and Shyamal Das. Two proscribed organisations, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Manipur Naga People’s Front (MNPF), had claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, the two organisations released pictures of 30 cadres brandishing Kalashnikov rifles who had carried out the attack.
The bodies arrived in Imphal Sunday and were taken for a post-mortem exam at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS). The post-mortem report is expected within a day.
The ceremony at the airport took place later in the day, and was attended by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. According to the PRO of the Assam Rifles, a “maximum representation” from the oldest paramilitary force of the Indian Army was also present.
Also read: PLA & MNPF — Militant groups behind ‘well-planned’ ambush that killed CO, family in Manipur