Drones Sighted in Manipur, People Turn Off Lights at Home

PTI, IMPHAL, SEPTEMBER 7, 2024 :  People in the peripheral areas of Bishnupur and Imphal East districts of Manipur turned off their lights on Friday night following sightings of multiple drones, officials said. Drones were reportedly employed by militants to drop bombs on people in two nearby places in Imphal West district earlier this week.

On Friday night, multiple drones were sighted at Narainsena, Nambol Kamong in Bishnupur district, and Pukhao, Dolaithabi, and Shantipur in Imphal East district, creating panic in these areas, the officials said. Panicked villagers turned off lights at home. Security forces are on high alert in peripheral areas to monitor the movement of large groups of people, an official said.

Several illumination  were fired in the sky in Bishnupur district, causing panic and confusion among the public. It was not clear if security forces or others had fired those rounds.

The use of drones as a weapon was first noticed in Manipur on September 1 in Koutruk village in Imphal West district. In the attack, in which guns were also used, two persons were killed and nine others were injured. The remote-controlled small flying device was employed again in Senjam Chirang, around three kilometers away, the next day, injuring three persons.

An elderly man was killed, and five others were injured after suspected militants launched a bomb attack on a residential area of Moirang in Bishnupur district on Friday afternoon. The rocket, which fell on the compound of former Chief Minister Mairembam Koireng’s residence, seemed to be an improvised one. It was the second rocket fired in the district on Friday.

The elderly man was preparing for some religious rituals in the compound when the bomb exploded. He died on the spot. Five others, including a 13-year-old girl, were injured in the explosion. The rocket fell at a spot around two kilometers from the INA headquarters. Earlier in the day, a rocket was fired from an elevated position in the nearby hill areas toward the low-lying residential locality of Tronglaobi, located around 45 kilometers from the state capital, Imphal.