Army JCO abducted by armed men from Thoubal in Manipur; rescued
Indian Army JCO abducted in Manipur's Thoubal district, safely rescued after nine hours. Security forces and Manipur Police are investigating.
Guwahati: A serving junior commissioned officer (JCO) of the Indian Army was allegedly abducted by a group of armed men from Thoubal district of strife-torn Manipur on Friday morning and rescued nearly nine hours later.
In a statement, the army later said: “The synergized efforts of the security forces resulted in the JCO being safely rescued at 6:30 PM. The JCO is currently at Waikhong Police Station (near Kakching) in Thoubal district. Manipur Police is investigating the incident.”
According to police officers, the incident took place around 9:30 am at the home of the JCO located at Charangpat. The JCO, identified as Konsam Kheda Singh, is posted outside Manipur and was home on leave.
“The JCO was at his residence when some armed men came and took him away. No one was hurt in the incident, which lasted barely few minutes,” said a senior police officer aware of the details, on condition of anonymity.
Until Friday evening, no group had claimed responsibility for the incident or raised any demand linking it with the officer’s release.
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Personnel from the state police along with Indian Army and central armed police forces (CAPFs) posted in Manipur have launched an inter-district operation in Thoubal, Bishnupur and Kakching districts to track and rescue the abducted officer.
Manipur has been roiled by ethnic clashes between Meiteis, who are dominant in Imphal Valley, and tribal Kuki-Zo communities since May last year. The violence has claimed at least 219 lives to date and displaced around 50,000 people.
Also Read: Militants who abducted cop in Manipur booked under UAPA
The violence has affected security forces posted in the state as well. According to government figures, 198 of those killed in violence till date were civilians while the rest are from security forces. Of the 1555 persons injured, 88 belonged to the state police and 28 were from central security forces.
