Imphal, Nov. 12: Following Monday’s intense gunbattle between security forces and militants, Manipur police, on Tuesday, said that while the security forces make every effort to avoid firing in order to minimise casualties, retaliation falls within the security forces' mandate when fired upon with sophisticated weapons.

Calling the incident “unfortunate”, IGP Operations IK Muivah said that it is standard practice to refrain from firing whenever possible; however, “when fired upon with sophisticated weapons, retaliation is a part of the security agencies' mandate”.

Detailing the events of the gunbattle, Muivah informed that the miscreants used rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and other sophisticated weapons, such as AK-47s, Insas rifles, and Self-Loading Rifles (SLRs), which resulted in the injury of one CRPF personnel. The injured individual was later sent to Assam for further treatment.

Muivah said that as security forces retaliated it took them about 45 minutes to regain control of the area.

Acknowledging that the scale of violence and the number of deaths were reduced by the intervention of the CRPF, Muivah said that after the gunbattle, two half-burnt bodies were found at Jakuradhor. Police have confirmed that the bodies belong to the Meitei community.

Additionally, six civilians – three women and as many children - have been missing since Monday evening. According to police, efforts are underway to locate the missing individuals.

Regarding claims from Kuki organisations that the ten individuals killed on Tuesday in Jiribam were actually village volunteers and not militants, Muivah said that the presence of sophisticated weapons clearly indicated that these individuals were militants, as their intent was to create trouble.

In response to the Kuki Student Organisation’s alleged directive that CRPF personnel should not leave their camps following Monday’s incident, Muivah highlighted that the police and security forces are operating under the Centre’s directives and the guidance of various agencies.

He assured that the police and security agencies, including the CRPF, would continue to work according to the provisions and mandates of their duties.

A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed in connection with the incident, and reinforcements, including Assam Rifles, CRPF, and civil police personnel, have been deployed to the area. Currently, combing operations are underway, and police have recovered large quantities of arms and ammunition from the slain militants, he added.