Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh escapes bid on his life

Guwahati: Manipur Chief Minister, Okram Ibobi Singh, escaped a major bid on his life on Monday when heavily armed Naga rebels opened fire on his helicopter soon after it landed at the Ukhrul helipad. Security forces said that NSCN (I-M) rebels were involved in the incident. Though, the Chief Minister and his deputy, Gaikhangam, escaped unhurt, two security personnel of Manipur Rifles sustained bullet injuries.

Ibobi along with his deputy Chief Minister had gone to Ukhrul, a district dominated by Tangkhul Nagas, to inaugurate a hospital and an office. The locals had called for the boycott of the inaugural ceremony as they accused that work on the district hospital was yet to be completed.

The Chief Minister’s helicopter immediately took off from Ukhrul and left for Chingai a remote village but could not land at the remote village also due to protests of locals, security sources said. The Chief Minister then cancelled his programmes and flew back to the state capital Imphal where he called an emergency cabinet meeting, security source said.

The chief minister had several official programmes lined up at Hunphung village and at Chingai village in Ukhrul district. Ibobi was to travel to Hunphung to inaugurate the 100-bedded Ukhrul district hospital besides a power sub-station.

Earlier, shortly after midnight on Sunday unknown miscreants had detonated a bomb near the newly constructed district hospital. The pandal where the public meeting of Chief Minister was planned was destroyed. One IRB personnel had also sustained injuries in the blast. Meanwhile, Ukhrul public torched two police vehicles in retaliation to search operations by the security forces.