Sunday, 14 November 2021 | PNS | New Delhi/Imphal
Col, 4 soldiers martyred, wife, kid of Assam Rifles CO dead
In one of the deadliest ambushes in recent years in the north-east, a Colonel, his wife, their six-year-old son, and four soldiers were killed in a terror attack at Thinghat in Manipur on Saturday. No militant outfit has, so far, claimed responsibility, but it is suspected that the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) carried out the attack.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh expressed shock over the death of Colonel Viplav Tripathi and his family besides the soldiers.
It was the most audacious attack by terrorists in the last several years in the State. Earlier, the terrorists had killed 20 soldiers in 2015 in an ambush here. The Army had then carried out surgical strikes against terror camps located in Myanmar.
Giving details of the latest incident, officials said a convoy of the Assam Rifles was ambushed by insurgents in Thinghat, Manipur at 11.00 am. Five soldiers including Colonel Tripathi, Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles were killed. The family of Commanding Officer including his wife and child also lost their lives in the incident.
The incident took place at Sehkan Village in Churachandpur. Militants used improvised explosive devices (IED) to ambush the convoy, sources said. In the ensuing firefight between the Assam Rifles personnel and the insurgents, Tripathi and three QRT (quick response team) personnel lost their lives on the spot.
The Colonel had gone to supervise a civic action programme in the area bordering Myanmar and was returning when the attack took place. This is the first time that civilians have died in an ambush in this remote area of the district. The location is an extremely remote village around 50 km from Churachandpur.
The injured personnel were admitted at Behianga health care centre, the Assam Rifles said in a Press statement.
Hailing the contribution of Colonel Tripathi, who had also served in Mizoram before being transferred to Manipur in July 2021, the Assam Rifles said: “During his tenure at Mizoram, under his able and energetic leadership, the Battalion has been at the forefront in border management thwarting illegal smuggling.
