Kamjong: In response to the recent attack on border villages in Manipur’s Kamjong district, state Home Minister Konthoujam Govindas on Saturday said the government is taking the firing and arson incidents “very seriously”.
Minister Govindas made the remarks during his visit to the affected border villages under Kasom Khullen and Kamjong sub-divisions. He was accompanied by MLAs Th Biswajit Singh, Khashim Vashum, Ram Muivah, Arunkumar Thangjam, Md. Abdul Nasir and Leishiyo Keishing.
Before reaching the affected villages, the minister briefly interacted with women from Nambashi Khullen village to understand the current situation in the area. During the interaction, the women expressed their grievances and concerns over the lack of adequate security forces in the border region. Referring to the May 7 assault, they said that the attack could have been prevented had sufficient security forces been deployed in the area.
The women also alleged that personnel of Assam Rifles stationed at the border villages remained inactive and failed to protect residents.
“Now the people of the border villages have lost trust in the Assam Rifles. Therefore, we are requesting the government to station one battalion of the India Reserve Battalion at Namlee and Choro villages,” they said.
Meanwhile, at Namlee village, the Home Minister interacted with Myanmar nationals who have been taking shelter in Tangkhul border villages for the past few years.
Addressing the gathering, Minister Govindas said that people in both Myanmar and Manipur are facing numerous challenges due to the ongoing tensions. However, he expressed optimism that peace would soon be restored in the region.
He also urged the Myanmarese nationals—numbering around 300—to act as ambassadors of peace and refrain from engaging in anti-social activities.
Later, the minister inspected the affected houses at Choro village and assessed the damage caused by the arson incident.
Speaking to media persons, Govindas described the recent attack in Kamjong’s border villages as unfortunate and highly condemnable.
“The government is taking serious note of the incident, and there may have been security lapses. We are looking into it,” he said.
Regarding the possibility of external aggression in the incident, the minister stated that the government has not yet received any official report confirming such involvement. However, if external factors are established in the Kamjong incident, the matter will be taken up with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Defence for necessary action.
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On the empty bullet shells bearing government-issued numbers found at the scene, the Home Minister said that many arms and ammunition were looted from the state government armoury during the crisis, and the bullets could possibly be among those looted items.
“At present, it remains uncertain. We will investigate the matter,” he added.
Also Read | Manipur: Phungyar MLA questions security absence after Kamjong attack