Kuki militants missed sighting LMG mounted vehicle... Died in hail of bullets : Sources

New Delhi, Nov 15
The death of 10 armed men during an attack on a CRPF camp in Manipur’s Jiribam district Monday appears to have been the result of a miscalculation on the part of the armed group.
Sources in the security establishment said the group, while targeting the camp, did not notice a CRPF bulletproof multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) stationed outside the camp. Most of the 10 men were said to have died in the first burst from a Light Machine Gun (LMG) mounted on the MPV.
Police said the CRPF camp at Jakuradhor and the nearby Borobekra police station came under gunfire shortly after armed miscreants had attacked homes and shops in the area.
Sources in Manipur Police and the Central security establishment said around 2.30 pm Monday, the Borobekra police station, which also has a relief camp under its jurisdiction and some villages near it, was attacked by a group of 40-50 armed men. Another group attacked the CRPF camp near the police station.
“The aim was to keep the CRPF personnel busy in protecting the camp while other teams targeted the relief camp and the adjacent villages. What the group missed was an MPV stationed outside the camp with armed personnel in it and an LMG mounted on the vehicle,” an officer said.
Sources said as soon as the camp came under fire, the personnel in the MPV opened fire with the LMG. “Most of  those found dead later died in the first burst of gunfire. The gunbattle continued for about half an hour as both sides took positions and fought,” another officer said.
Sources dismissed claims that “village volunteers” had been killed in the clashes with the CRPF. “Nine of the 10 killed are from Churachandpur. What village were they protecting 200 km away ? We have recovered AK 47 rifles, SLRs and an RPG from them. One of our men has a gunshot injury,” a senior CRPF officer said.
A day after the incident, bodies of two men were recovered by police from houses in Jakuradhor. According to police, the two men were among 10 people, from a relief camp under the Borobekra police station, who had gone missing after Monday’s violence. Six persons of a family including three children are among the missing.
Sources said there was a brief lull following the Koutruk bombing and rocket attack in Moirang. The new wave of violence started with the killing of a 31-year-old woman from a village near the Jiribam district headquarters.
The Indian Express