In Manipur, two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel lost their lives in an attack by Kuki militants on Friday midnight in the Naransena area, ANI news agency reported.
The Manipur Police told the news agency that the CRPF personnel were attacked by Kuki militants starting from midnight till 2:15 am.
The deceased are from the CRPF 128 Battalion deployed at the Naransena area in Bishnupur district in the state.
“The militants fired indiscriminately from hilltops, targetting the camp. It started around 12.30 am and continued till about 2.15 am. The militants also hurled bombs, one of which exploded in the outpost of CRPF’s 128 battalion,” a senior police officer said.
Over 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence in Manipur between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjacent hills-based Kukis since May last year.
Last week, an abridge on the National Highway 2 in ethnic violence-hit Manipur’s Kangpokpi district was partially damaged in an IED explosion.
The IED explosion occurred hours after gunfights broke out between village volunteers of the two warring communities in Imphal West district.
The Kukis attacked on the same day when the state cast a vote for the Lok Sabha election. Voting was underway at 857 polling stations, spanning 13 assembly segments in eight districts. Manipur registered a healthy voter turnout at 76.06% till 5 pm.
Fifteen assembly segments of the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency went to the polls in the first phase on April 19 along with the whole of the Inner Manipur seat.
Four candidates are in the fray in Outer Manipur — NPF’s K Timothy Zimik, Congress’s Alfred Kanngam Arthur, and Independents S Kho John and Alyson Abonmai. The BJP has not fielded any candidate and is backing its ally, the Naga People’s Front (NPF).
In the 2019 elections, the NPF emerged victorious, defeating the BJP by a margin of 73,782 votes.
