On Tuesday, a police officer was shot dead by suspected militants in Manipur’s Moreh. Chingtham Anand Kumar, the SDPO, was on duty overseeing the cleaning of the grounds of a school when suspected Kuki militants opened fire on him. He succumbed to his injuries at a local primary health centre.
The police have launched an operation to nab the perpetrators.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that he is saddened by the cold-blooded killing of Anand. “Deeply saddened by the cold-blooded killing of SDPO Chingtham Anand, OC Moreh Police this morning. His dedication to serve and protect the people will always be remembered. The perpetrators will be brought to justice,” the CM said in a post on X.
Notably, Kukis are in a majority in Moreh and the incident followed the demand of some organisations for the removal of the State forces from there.
The incident led to the Manipur Cabinet conducting an emergency meeting on the law-and-order situation. “While a sense of normalcy was slowly settling in, an MPS officer has been killed today in unprovoked firing by armed Kuki militants…” an official statement after the Cabinet meeting said.
The state government has approved ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh and a suitable government job for the next of kin of the slain police officer.
