After a lull, killing returns in Manipur; Police officer shot dead in Moreh by militants, CM calls it “cold-blooded killing

A Police officer with Manipur Police was shot dead by suspected insurgents on Tuesday while he was overseeing the construction work of a helipad in Moreh. The news was confirmed by the state government of N Biren Singh as the Chief Minister himself took to social media condemning the attack and called it a ‘cold-blooded killing.'

“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 wrote on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter).

This comes days after a period of lull in the strife-torn state where violence first erupted on May 3 and had lasted for over four months, killing at least 180 people and displacing over 60,000. A few weeks back several civil society organizations demanded the removal of state forces from the border town of Moreh which borders Myanmar. The border between Manipur and Myanmar is porous.

Police claim insurgents had started firing targeting the police who were inspecting the helipad construction work at Eastern ground in Moreh which primarily has the dominance of people from the Kuki community. SDPO Anand had sustained bullet injuries from a sniper and he later succumbed to his injuries after being taken to a primary health center in Moreh.

An operation has been launched in the area to apprehend the militants but no arrests have been made so far.