New Delhi: A Manipur police officer was shot dead on Tuesday, October 31, by suspected militants while he was overseeing the construction of a helipad in Moreh, a trading town sharing a border with neighbouring Myanmar.Soon after, a reinforcement police party sent to Moreh was also ambushed by armed men in two places, grievously injuring three policemen.The deceased officer, Chingtham Anand, was serving as a sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) in Moreh, which is a hill district where Kukis constitute the majority population. He was rushed to a local clinic where he died while undergoing treatment.The killing of the police officer is indicative of the unabated violence that has gripped the state for several months. It also lays flat the claims of security forces and the state government that Manipur is returning to normalcy.According to NDTV, a senior official said the bullet wound on the deceased officer indicated he was shot with a large-calibre marksman or sniper rifle from a concealed position quite a distance away. Security forces, he said, could not retaliate immediately as the general direction from where the precision shot came has civilian buildings. Security forces have launched an operation in the area to weed out militants and neutralise any further threats.The helipad under question is being built by Manipur Police and Border Security Force (BSF) to help transport personnel from the state capital, Imphal, to Moreh, as the existing roads have been blocked at a number of places by insurgents and miscreants.The killing of Anand comes days after members of several civil society organisations, particularly those based in Moreh, demanded the removal of state forces from the border town.Spontaneous protests began in the Valley in the immediate aftermath of Anand’s killing, prompting the Manipur government to convene an emergency cabinet meeting. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said that he is saddened by the “cold-blooded killing” of Anand.Taking to X (Twitter), he said, “Deeply saddened by the cold-blooded killing of SDPO Chingtham Anand, OC Moreh Police this morning. His dedication to serve and protect the people will always be remembered. The perpetrators will be brought to justice.”Deeply saddened by the cold-blooded killing of SDPO Chingtham Anand, OC Moreh Police this morning. His dedication to serve and protect the people will always be remembered. The perpetrators will be brought to justice.— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) October 31, 2023It was decided in the Cabinet meeting to send reinforcements to Moreh, which also came under attack, injuring three policemen seriously.Three commandos – S. Thuikhavang, S. Sekharjit, and L. Bangkim Singh – sustained bullet injuries and were airlifted to Raj Medicity Hospital for treatment. The police convoy was attacked at two different locations on the Indo-Mynamar national highway whilst it was on its way to Moreh. They were first ambushed at Bongyang village, but the police did not retaliate and continued their journey to Moreh. The second ambush took place at K Sinam village, where an exchange of fire took place, according to India Today.The Manipur government, in a statement after the cabinet meeting, said a first information report (FIR) has been filed against an organisation called ‘World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council’, which had issued a statement on October 24 asking “volunteers” in the Kuki-Zo community to take up arms. It had said the Kuki National Army and other insurgent groups could not “join the war” due to the tripartite suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the Union and the state governments.As per the SoO agreement, at least 25 Kuki insurgent groups have agreed to stay at designated camps and keep their weapons in locked storage for regular joint monitoring with the security forces.“The cabinet noted that an FIR has already been lodged against the organisation yesterday. In view of today’s incident leading to the killing of a senior police officer, the cabinet, therefore, approved to also recommend for declaration of the World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC) as an unlawful association/organisation under Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967,” the government said in the statement, according to NDTV.