Manipur ambush: PLA, MNPF claim responsibility for attack on martyred Assam Rifles' CO

Manipur-based terrorist groups People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Manipur Naga People’s Front (MNPF) have claimed responsibility for the ambush attack in Manipur's Churachandpur district which killed five Indian Army personnel, including a Commanding Officer (CO), and his wife and son.

The terrorist groups condoled the demise of CO's wife and son. They said that Saturday's ambush was carried out in retaliation to hostility by Assam Rifles in the name of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).

Convoy of 46 AR CO attacked in Manipur

Colonel Viplav Tripathi, the Commanding Officer (CO) of Khuga Battalion of Assam Rifles, his wife and son, and four personnel of the country's oldest paramilitary were killed in a welter of IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blasts and burst of gunfire in Churachandpur district on Saturday.

Tripathi's convoy was at Sehkan village when an IED exploded on a hill road followed by bullets from hilltops as security personnel ducked for cover and fired from behind trees and boulders. 

"Five soldiers including Col Viplav Tripathi Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. The family of Commanding Officer i.e. wife and child also lost their lives in the incident. DG and all ranks of Assam Rifles offer condolences to the brave soldiers and families of the deceased," the force said in a press statement.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called it a cowardly attack and said that perpetrators will be brought to justice. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the sacrifices of the soldiers and their families will never be forgotten.

"I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness," the PM wrote on Twitter.

This was the first major attack on security personnel since June 4, 2018, when an Army convoy was attacked in a similar fashion in Chandel district, leading to the death of 18 officials and injury to others. 

Image: Republic