Eight AK-47 cartridges recovered: Police found around eight spent cartridges at the scene and registered a case. No armed group has been blamed for the firing so far.
BY PC Bureau
September 11, 2026: A CRPF foot patrol came under fire Thursday evening on National Highway-2 in Imphal West after gunmen in a four-wheeler opened fire and then fled. No one was hurt.
The shooting took place around 6.20pm at Khonghampat Laikol Leikai as troops of the 152 Battalion CRPF moved between Khonghampat and Pheidinga. The attackers fired several rounds before driving north along the highway towards Sekmai.
Reports said about eight spent AK-47 cartridges were found near the spot. Police have not named any group as responsible for the attack.
Reports said District police and personnel from Sekmai Police Station reached the scene and registered a case. Investigators are examining the circumstances of the firing and the identity of the attackers.
The incident comes amid renewed security operations against armed groups in Manipur. Earlier this week, a joint team of Manipur Police, CRPF CoBRA and Rapid Action Force personnel raided a suspected Kuki Liberation Army camp at Gampum in Kangpokpi district, apprehending eight suspected cadres and recovering seven automatic weapons, according to the Manipur Police.
READ: Kuki Armed Leaders Accuse Manipur Govt of Shielding NSCN-IM
In another recent operation, security forces reported a gunfight with the United Kuki National Army in Phaibong village of Churachandpur district on September 2, in which two suspected militants were killed and two others injured. The UKNA is not a signatory to the Suspension of Operations agreement.
Ethnic violence that began in May 2023 between Meitei and Kuki communities later spread more widely. At least 260 people have been killed and about 60,000 displaced. Meiteis, largely Hindu and based in the Imphal Valley, and Kuki-Zo groups, mostly Christian and concentrated in the hills, have largely stayed out of each other’s areas since then.
