Unprovoked firing in Manipur, two soldiers injured

Amid the violence in Manipur, Chief Minister N Biren Singh appealed to the people to maintain peace. Pic/PTI

Two soldiers got injured after armed miscreants resorted to unprovoked firing in N Boljang, Imphal West district on Thursday morning, Spear Corps, Indian Army said.

The soldiers sustained minor injuries and are stable, officials added.

In a tweet, Spear Corps said, "Unprovoked firing in Imphal West. Armed miscreants resorted to unprovoked firing in N Boljang, Imphal West Distt in the morning hours of 22 June. Calibrated response by own troops to avoid any collateral damage. Two soldiers sustained minor injuries- both stable."

Moreover, one INSAS light machine gun has also been recovered during the initial search. Additional columns inducted and operations are in progress.

Earlier, an Indian Army soldier has been injured after armed miscreants resorted to unprovoked firing from Kanto Sabal towards Chingmang village during the intervening night of June 18-19.

The soldier sustained a gunshot wound and was evacuated to Military Hospital Leimakhong and is currently stable.

As Manipur is still witnessing incidents like arson, the state government on Tuesday extended the ban on the internet by five more days till June 25 with immediate effect in an effort to prevent further disturbance to peace.

The data services have been banned in view of the persisting unrest in the state.

Violence gripped Manipur on May 3 after clashes erupted during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest the demand for the inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.

Meanwhile, Days after the Congress party demanded an all-party meeting on the prevailing situation in Manipur, Home Minister of India Amit Shah has convened the all-party in New Delhi. The meeting will be held on June 24, PTI reported. The Congress had on June 16 demanded an "all-party meeting" on the unabated violence in Manipur and said the country needs answers from the government on the conflict that is spiralling out of control.

The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States amid the ethnic strife in Manipur, where over 100 lives have been lost since early last month. The BJP rebutted the charge pointing out that the central and Manipur governments are concerned about the situation in the northeastern state and efforts are on to bring peace.

Amid the violence in Manipur, Chief Minister N Biren Singh appealed to the people to maintain peace and urged those with arms not to attack so that normalcy can be restored. "I appeal to the people who are with arms not to attack anything. Please maintain peace so that we can resource normalcy in the state....," said N Biren Singh while talking to reporters. Earlier on Monday, CM N Biren Singh visited some relief camps in the state and said that the state government is soon going to construct pre-fabricated houses to accommodate the people temporarily.

(With ANI and PTI inputs)