Imphal: A soldier of the Assam Rifles opened fire at his colleagues, injuring six of the jawans, before shooting himself dead in Manipur’s Chandel district, said Manipur Police in a statement on Wednesday.
The incident took place in the Sajik Tampak area in an Assam Rifles Battalion deployed close to the Indo-Myanmar border in South Manipur late on Tuesday.
Injured are stable
The soldiers who were not from Manipur, have been shifted to the Military Hospital for treatment and are stable. An investigation has been ordered into the incident to ascertain the facts.
"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 the Military Hospital for further treatment and reported to be stable," the Manipur Police said.
'Incident was not related to ongoing ethnic conflict'
The Manipur Police, however, said the incident was not related to the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state and asked citizens to avoid any speculation.
"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. Investigation into the incident has been ordered to ascertain the facts," the police said.
"All Assam Rifles battalions have mixed class composition, including those belonging to various communities in Manipur. All personnel have been staying and operating together despite polarisation of society to maintain peace and stability in Manipur," it further said.
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