New Delhi: An Assam Rifles jawan opened fire at a battalion camp near the Indo-Tibetan border in South Manipur Wednesday, injuring six colleagues, before shooting himself.
All injured jawans were hospitalised, but the perpetrator of the incident later succumbed to his injuries, defence sources told ThePrint. The others are said to be stable.
According to the sources, the jawan who opened fire is from Churachandpur in Manipur and had joined duty on 20 January after being on leave.
“Investigation into the matter is on. We are trying to ascertain if the jawan was suffering from mental health issues,” a source in the defence establishment told ThePrint.
Following the incident, Manipur Police put out a statement claiming the incident was not related to the ongoing ethnic conflicts in Manipur.
In a post on social media platform X (previously Twitter), police said “One Assam Rifles Jawan opened fire on his colleagues injuring six of them (all injured are non-Manipuris); later the individual shot himself. All injured have been evacuated to Military Hospital for further treatment and reported to be stable.”
From PRO of IG AR (s):
There has been an incident of firing by an Assam Rifles Jawan in an ASSAM RIFLES BATTALION deployed close to the Indo – Myanmar border in South Manipur.
One Assam Rifles Jawan opened fire on his colleagues injuring six of them (all injured are…
— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) January 24, 2024
The statement added that in light of the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, it was important to share the details of the incident transparently to dispel any potential rumours and avoid speculation.
“This unfortunate incident should not be correlated with ongoing conflict, given the fact that none of the injured are from Manipur. Investigation into the incident has been ordered to ascertain the facts,” the state police added.
Manipur has been on the boil since 3 May, 2023, when decades of simmering ethnic tensions between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities erupted into full-fledged violence. Over 200 people have been killed in the sporadic violence and tensions since, while 50,000 have been displaced.
It has been alleged that Assam Rifles personnel posted in the strife-torn state were “not responsive” and remained “mute spectators” when unarmed civilians were being indiscriminately fired upon by suspected militants.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)