S
ecurity personnel transporting the body of UG suspect in a boat
IMPHAL, Apr 12: In probably the first of its kind in the State un-manned aerial vehicle (UAV) was utilised in the extensive search operation conducted at Loktak Lake and surrounding dry-lands during which one suspected underground cadre was killed.
Body of a suspected UG cadre along with an AK series rifle has been recovered from the operation site.
Other items found in the course of the security force action include LPG cylinders, solar panels, utensils and house-hold goods.
In addition to the UAV, Army choppers and mechanised boats were used in flushing out armed activists of UG groups reportedly hiding at the floating bio-mass of Loktak lake while local fishermen adept in rowing dug-outs were engaged to ferry security force personnel to suspected hide- outs.
According to police/army sources, the operation that ensued from the wee hours today and lasted till dusk covered areas such as Ithai Ungamen pat (lake), Keibul, Nongmaikhong , Khordak etc and involved personnel of the 4/8 Gorkha Rifles, 7 Assam Rifles and Army troops.
Bishnupur district police commandos also reached the operation area at daybreak, the sources conveyed adding that with troops of the GR and AR units encircling the Loktak periphery, army teams from the Red Shield Divn’s 73 Brigade advanced on boats to specific locations.
A statement issued by PIB (DW) tonight, said troops of 57 Mountain Division along with Bishnupur police commandos destro-yed large and well construc- ted hideout of PREPAK in the Loktak Lake on the Nongmaikhong side and re-covered automatic wea- pons, assorted ammunition, IEDs and propaganda materials.
The success of this extremely difficult and com- plex operation was due to high levels of training and close coordination between the security forces and Bishnupur police commandos, the PIB statement maintained while adding that GOC 57 Mountain Division Maj Gen Shakti Gurung was personally involved in coordinating the operation.
Groups of media personnel who trickled to the ope- ration zone on the Unga-men, Khordak and Keibul side observed numerous bomb blasts, gun shots and burning down of UGs’ thatched hideouts within as well as close to the Keibul Lamjao National park, whi-ch is the only natural habitat of the endangered brow-antler deer (Sangai).
The media teams were also told by the locals of no less than six male fishermen being called out in the early hours from their respective homes to ferry the security personnel and returned back at around 3 pm.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the rowers described the loca-tion of the operation to be about three hours of navi-gating to the lake from the Ungamen bridge.
While two large temporary hiding places of the UGs were dismantled four other similar structures we-re bombed to pieces, said the villager who also revealed that bushes within the National park were in flame when the security team came out in about 20 canoes/mechanised boats.
