A Border Security Force (BSF) trooper was killed and two Assam Rifles personnel were injured in a fierce gun battle with suspected Kuki militants in Manipur’s Kakching district on Tuesday, officials said here.

Defence officials said that a combing operation was launched at Serou in Kakching on Monday night and continued till Tuesday morning, when suspected Kuki militants fired at the combined security forces.

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BSF constable Ranjit Yadav, who sustained bullet injuries, was taken at Jiban Hospital in Kakching but succumbed. The injured Assam Rifles personnel were evacuated to Mantripukhri in Imphal.

During the preliminary search, two AK series rifles, a 51mm mortar, two carbines, huge quantities of ammunition and warlike stores have been recovered from the area.

Sanitisation operations are currently underway and further details are awaited.

The BSF trooper is the second para-military personnel killed in the ongoing violence in Manipur, where over 100 people killed and over 320 others injured after the ethnic strife broke out on May 3. On May 10, Assam Rifles rifleman Alok Rao sustained gunshots wounds during an operation in Manipur’s Senapati district and succumbed to his injury at Command Hospital in Kolkata on May 17.

Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and other senior officials paid their last respect to the slain BSF jawan.

The BSF, expressing their grief and condolences, tweeted: “Director General and all ranks of BSF salute the supreme sacrifice of Ct/GD Ranjit Yadav, 163 Bn BSF on 06 June 2023 while deployed at Serou Practical High School, PS Sugnu, Distt Kakching, Manipur.

“Ct/GD Ranjit Yadav displayed conspicuous bravery, high degree of dedication & devotion to duty during the exchange of fire when suspected Kuki miscreants resorted to indiscriminate & heavy volume of firing towards BSF troops. Prahari Parivaar stands in solidarity with the bereaved family.”

Meanwhile, a defence release said that multiple incidents of violence, arson and firing in Sugnu and Serou in the past 48 hours necessitated the redeployment of additional troops.

“Extensive area domination operations by the Assam Rifles, BSF and Manipur Police were undertaken in the Sugnu and Serou areas. Intermittent firing between security forces and the insurgents took place throughout the night. Security forces effectively retaliated to the fire,” it said.

The troops were tasked to beef up ongoing extensive area domination operations, ambushes and measures to prevent violence.

Security frces took adequate measures to prevent insurgents from ‘breaking contact’ and running away to nearby areas.

Sugnu was comparatively peaceful even after the break out of the ethnic clashes in Manipur on Monday 3.

However on June 2, heavily armed militants set fire to the house of former minister and Congress MLA K. Ranjit, as well as many other residences.

All houses at Serou have been burnt completely and people were taking refuge at Sugnu. Following the burning of houses, people of the area started attacking the camp of a Kuki militant group under Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement.