Manipur: Suspected Kuki militants fire at petrol & LPG tankers on NH-37, driver injured

Imphal: A group of armed men in combat fatigue opened firing bullets at the trucks plying on the National Highway 37 connecting Imphal-Silchar injuring a driver and causing leakage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), petrol, and diesel on the roadside drains on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The armed men suspected to be the Kuki militants halted the petrol and LPG tankers plying on this NH-37 at a place in between Tolen Kuki village and Kaimai under the Tousem subdivision of the Tamenglong district of Manipur at around 10:30 am on Tuesday.

The armed men opened fire at an LPG tanker, and two oil tankers causing leakage of the gas and petroleum products.

In their two-pronged attacks with gunfire, the armed men at the first attempt punctured the tyres of the vehicles and also caused bullet injuries to a driver on his right leg.

On getting the report, a team of the Manipur police and central security forces further to the spot and evacuated the injured driver to a nearby hospital though the petroleum products could not be rescued.

Fortunately, there is no report of the burning of vehicles and inflammable goods.

Reports stated that the armed men took undue advantage of attacking the vehicles plying on this NH-37 without security escorts.

Because of the elections to the two Lok Sabha elections slated on April 19 and April 26 in Manipur, the government has withdrawn adequate security escorts on the vehicles transported on this road since April 9.

Police registered a case in this regard, officials added.