The Centre on Thursday directed armed forces to launch an all-out offensive to trace and eliminate the militants involved in the killing of 20 Armymen in Manipur. The Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur has been closed to stop the militants fleeing to the neighbouring country. The decision was taken in the high-level meeting in the evening chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
The Home Minister ordered that no militant involved in the attack should be allowed to go scot-free and strongest possible action should be taken against all those involved in the ambush, sources said.
The Central Government took the incident very seriously and directed that all installations of the security forces in Manipur and Nagaland be put on high alert to foil any attempt by the militants to strike again.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as “very distressing” the “mindless” attack by insurgents in Manipur in which 20 soldiers were killed and 11 injured. “Today’s mindless attack in Manipur is very distressing. I bow to each and every soldier who has sacrificed his life for the nation,” he said.
Earlier, Parrikar condemned the attack and asserted that those who committed this “cowardly act” will be brought to book. The Army will continue to work towards bringing peace and normalcy to the State, he stressed.
“Deeply distressed after the news of attack on Army convoy in Manipur. We will not allow the sacrifices of our soldiers to get wasted,” Rajnath Singh told the media at a high-level meeting.
According to Intelligence officials, preliminary findings indicate that Manipur rebel outfit Peoples liberation Army (PlA) and Kanglei Yawol Kanna lup (KYKl), a Meitei rebel organisation are involved in the incident.
The sources said the high-level meeting expressed anguish over the killing of such a large number of Armymen and decided that well-coordinated operations and strongest possible action are the only way out check the militant groups which continue to attack security forces and involve in subversive activities.