Centre rushes 20 additional CAPF companies to Manipur after fresh violence

The Centre has rushed 20 additional CAPF companies comprising about 2,000 personnel to Manipur in the wake of fresh attacks and law and order issues in the state, official sources said Wednesday.

The sources told PTI that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued orders on Tuesday night for airlifting and immediate deployment of these units. 

At least 10 suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Monday after insurgents in camouflage uniforms, armed with sophisticated weapons, fired indiscriminately at the Borobekra police station and the adjacent CRPF camp at Jakuradhor in Jiribam district.

 

A huge cache of sophisticated weapons were also seized by the force following the fierce gunbattle.

Sources said out of the 20 fresh Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) companies ordered to be rushed to Manipur include 15 from the CRPF and five from the Border Security Force (BSF).

These units will add to the 198 companies of the CAPFs that are already stationed in the state following the ethnic violence that began in the state in May last year leading to the killing of 200 people.

All these CAPF units will be at the disposal of the Manipur government till November 30 as ordered by the MHA but the deployment is expected to be extended, the sources said.

Tension has been high in Manipur since last week due to a fresh round of violence in Jiribam.

Following the Monday incident, fresh violence was reported from multiple places in Imphal Valley where armed groups from the two warring sides engaged in exchange of fire, the state police had said.