Bomb blast in Manipur's Moreh

At a time when a huge social media buzz is being created in the country over the Indian Army’s claims of conducting ‘surgical strike’ on North-East militant bases along the Indo-Myanmar border and inflicting ‘significant casualties’, the banned militants groups have hit back claiming that although an attack did take place, no casualty occurred and termed it as ‘senseless propaganda’.

To make things worse, suspected militants have detonated a bomb inside the commando unit’s office of the Manipur Police in the border town of Moreh. The Indian Army had claimed on Tuesday to have carried out airborne commando operation to ‘neutralise’ the militant involved in the June 4 ambush in Chandel districts where the Army lost 18 jawans from 6 Dogra regiment.

In a press release sent to Deccan Herald by the Revolutionary Peoples’ Front (RPF), the political wing of the banned Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur, the groups has claimed that Indian security forces on Tuesday did carry out an attack on its mobile transit camp near the Indo-Myanmar border in Ukhrul district of Manipur. The group further stated that a sentry post was attacked and the militants responded back.

The RPF refuted the Indian Army’s claims that ‘significant casualties’ were inflicted, claiming that ‘no casualty took place in both sides’.  The banned militant group further claimed that the Indian security forces fled leaving few of their arms and ammunitions that were later recovered by PLA cadres. To testify their claims, the RPF has also released a few photographs of those arms.

The RPF also claimed that most of the media reports published about the Indian Army’s strike is misleading and propaganda. The militant groups have further challenged the Indian Army to substantiate its claims, the press release added. 

In another press statement, the NSCN/GPRN has claimed that “the unsubstantiated claim of cross border raid by the Indian Army is a conspiracy at the highest political-military-intelligence level of Indian government to coerce the Myanmar government to act upon the NSCN and to AFSPA,” the statement adds.

The Indian Army is however sticking to its claims. “We have informed the nation at the highest level what ever we had to say on our strikes on Tuesday. The truth has been told to the nation, Militants groups can go on claiming whatever they want, there morale is badly hit" said Lt.col Suneet Newton, the Guwahati based PRO (Defence).

Meanwhile, on Wednesday evening around 6:30 pm a powerful explosion rocked the Manipur commando unit complex in the insurgency infested Chandel district. According to police sources, a bomb, possibly planted by banned militants, went off inside the commando unit complex of the India Reserve battalion of the Manipur Police, adjacent to the Moreh Police station. At the time of filing this report, no casualty has been reported in the incident. A massive counter insurgency operation has been launched in the area.  
However, Army sources have revealed to Deccan Herald that Indian Army’s claims that the  commando operation was initiated as a ‘preamptive’ measure and that was not ‘punitive’ by any means  holds more ground.