Attack on officer’s home: Manipur commandos hold symbolic arms down protest

They broke window panes and flower pots besides smashing the windscreens of four vehicles parked on the premises

Firefighters douse a vehicle after it was set on fire by unidentified men following a bomb blast inside the office premises of the All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU), in Imphal, Manipur.: PTI picture.

PTI, Imphal, 28.02.24 : Hundreds of commando personnel of four districts in the Imphal Valley region on Wednesday held a symbolic arms down protest against the mob attack on the residence of an Additional Superintendent of Police, officials said.

Unidentified miscreants on Tuesday night fired several rounds at the residence of additional SP (operations) M Amit Singh at Wangkhei in Imphal.

They broke window panes and flower pots besides smashing the windscreens of four vehicles parked on the premises.

"Protesting against the attack, the commando personnel of Imphal West district held an arms down protest at their respective complex," an official said.

Those personnel of the commando units in Imphal East, Bishnupur and Thoubal districts also followed the move.

“They put down their firearms on the ground in a row as a symbol of protest,” he said.

In a statement, the state police on Wednesday said the gunmen also abducted the senior police officer and one of his escorts but they were later rescued by the central and state forces from Kwakeithel area, some three km from his residence.

It said two persons suffered injuries during the incident in the capital of the Northeastern state which has been rocked by ethnic strife since May last year.

More than 180 people were killed since the violence erupted on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mainly in the hill districts.