Kolkata, January 9: On a day when the Central government talked peace with the NSCN (IM) leaders in New Delhi, Manipur was rocked by violence and bloodshed.
In one of the fiercest encounters between security forces and north-eastern extremist groups in recent times, the Manipur Peoples Liberation Front (MPLF), an umbrella organisation of three underground outfits of Manipur, shot dead four BSF personnel and seriously injured several others. The BSF casualty included an assistant commandant.
The militants also took away a couple of AK 47s and a wireless set from the slain jawans. Three militants were reportedly hurt.
The fight between the security forces and the militants which started on Wednesday morning continued till 5 pm this evening with massive deployments from both the BSF and the militants. While three BSF columns moved into the Sajik Tampak area of Chandel district about 100 km from Imphal, the MPLF has reportedly positioned more than 500 of its armed cadres to repulse the BSF operations. The militants were said to be at vantage positions in the hilly terrains and using rocket-launchers and grenades which made the job of the BSF more difficult.
According to sources, the MPLF in a press release this evening in Imphal stated that the BSF had pressed into service helicopters and bullet-proof vans to face the challenge from the MPLF cadres. It also mentioned that arrangments were underway to hand over the bodies of the killed BSF jawans to the ‘‘Indian Occupation Force Front.’’
A senior BSF official clarified that a sector commander of the BSF actually made a recce of the area this morning and rations were supplied to the BSF camp by helicopters. A number of senior Manipur government administration officials when contacted over the telephone admitted that it would be ‘‘too simplistic’’ to consider the timing of the encounter ‘‘a sheer coincidence’’ with the peace talks in Delhi. Rather, there seems to be a message that there are other armed groups to reckon with in the north-east apart from the NSCN (IM).
Official sources say that the MPLF comprises three underground outfits — PLA, UNLF and PREPAK. The combined strength of these outfits would be at least 7,000 armed cadres and an equally deadly fire power. B. K. Dey, the Inspector General of the Assam-Nagaland-Manipur frontier of the BSF, said the militants are very well-entrenched in the area where the encounter took place. He admitted that the ‘‘attack appears well-coordinated with the peace talks being held in Delhi.’’
BSF reinforcements from Sangai Kot, Chakpikarong and Phundep have already been rushed to the affected area which approximately covered about 50 sq km, officials added.