By IANS
Imphal : Two teams of the paramilitary Assam Rifles while on a mission to nab militants in Manipur’s Thoubal district mistakenly fired on each other resulting in the death of two troopers and injuries to two others, officials said.
According to a police spokesperson, the teams were sent to Thoubal district early Tuesday.
“The teams had cordoned off the area and were searching for militants when suddenly one group fired on the other side. There was heavy exchange of fire for quite sometime with both teams mistakenly thinking that the firing was by the militants,” a senior police official said.
Two troopers died on the spot.
“The confusion was cleared only after the firing stopped with both sides realising their mistake,” the official said.
The injured were shifted to the Leimakhong army hospital, about 25 km from capital Imphal. The dead were sent to the Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital in Imphal for post-mortem.
“We are investigating on how such a goof up happened,” an Assam Rifles commander said.
Security operations were intensified in the state with one of the frontline rebel groups, the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), observing its foundation day Tuesday.