Imphal, Jan 24: An Assam Rifles jawan allegedly fired at his colleagues before shooting himself dead on Wednesday, in an Assam Rifles battalion in South Manipur near the Indo-Myanmar.
Releasing a statement on the incident, Assam Rifles stated, “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 non-Manipuris); later the individual shot himself. All injured have been evacuated to Military Hospital for further treatment and reported to be stable.”
The statement went on to say that the incident had nothing to do with the state’s ongoing strife.
“In light of the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur, it is important to share the details of the incident transparently to dispel any potential rumours and avoid any speculation. This unfortunate incident should not be correlated with ongoing conflict, given the fact that none of the injured are from Manipur. An investigation into the incident has been ordered to ascertain the facts”, the statement read.
The ethnic violence in the state, which began on May 3 of last year, killed over 200 individuals and displaced 60,000 others till date.
