Imphal: A sub-divisional police officer was killed on Tuesday after being shot at by suspected tribal militants at Moreh in Manipur's Tengnoupal district, police said. Moreh SDPO Chingtham Anand received a bullet injury after the group of insurgents fired on policemen when they were inspecting the newly constructed helipad at Eastern ground in the border town dominated by Kuki-Zo community people, a senior officer said.
The SDPO was taken to a primary health centre in Moreh where he succumbed to his injury, the police officer said. An operation has been launched in the area to apprehend the militants, he said. The incident comes weeks after several civil society organisations, particularly those based in Moreh, demanded the removal of state forces from the border town.
In an emergency meeting, the Manipur cabinet on Tuesday approved Rs 50 lakh ex gratia for the next of the kin of Moreh SDPO Chingtham Anand. Chingtham, a resident of Imphal's Haobam Marak locality, was shot at during an ambush by militants at Moreh while he was "on duty overseeing the cleaning of the grounds of Eastern Shine School for construction of a helipad jointly by the police and BSF," an official said.
The SDPO was taken to a primary health centre in Moreh where he succumbed to his injuries, a senior police officer said. Condemning the dastardly act, the cabinet also decided to provide a suitable government employment to the next of the kin of the slain policeman. The cabinet decided to instruct the security forces "to launch a joint operation in Moreh and its adjoining areas to arrest the culprits responsible for the crime" and "noted that additional state forces have been detailed from Imphal for the purpose. The operations have since started."