In a shocking incident, an Assam Riffles soldier allegedly shot his six colleagues this morning (January 24) before shooting himself dead at his battalion in southern Manipur.Assam Riffle soldier shoots 6 colleagues, Heres official statement:Following this, Assam Riffles release a statement on this incident.“There has been an incident of firing by an Assam Rifles Jawan in an Assam Rifles Battalion deployed close to the Indo-Myanmar border in South Manipur. One Assam Rifles Jawan opened fire on his colleagues injuring six of them (all injured are non-Manipuris) later the individual shot himself. All injured have been evacuated to Military Hospital for further treatment and reported to be stable”, the statement said.There has been an incident of firing by an Assam Rifles Jawan in an ASSAM RIFLES BATTALION deployed close to the Indo - Myanmar border in South Manipur. One Assam Rifles Jawan opened fire on his colleagues injuring six of them (all injured are non-Manipuris) later the… pic.twitter.com/tzIopcHaM9— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 24, 2024There was no relation whatsoever of this particular incident to the ongoing conflict in the strife-torn state, said the statement.Transparency is important- Assam Riffles“In light of the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur, it is important to share the details of the incident transparently to dispel any potential rumors and avoid any speculation. This unfortunate incident should not be correlated with ongoing conflict, given the fact that none of the injured are from Manipur. An investigation into the incident has been ordered to ascertain the facts”, the statement read.“All Assam Rifles battalions have mixed class composition including those belonging to various communities from Manipur. All personnel have been staying and operating together despite polarization of society to maintain peace and stability in Manipur”, the statement added.Investigation is on“Police will probe the incident. The soldier is from Churachandpur and had recently joined duty but the people he shot are, not from Manipur. Police will probe the reasons for this fratricide incident,” an official aware of the matter said.This all started on May 3 last year, when ethnic clashes between the Kukis and Meiteis during a protest against a court-ordered tweak to the states reservation matrix, granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the latter.
