Manipur violence: CRPF CoBRA commando on leave shot dead in Churachandpur district

A CRPF CoBRA commando on leave was shot dead by armed assailants in his village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on May 5.

Constable Chonkholen Haokip of the 204th CoBRA battalion's delta company was slain at 2-3 p.m., they added.

The circumstances surrounding his death are unknown, but it is believed that intruders dressed in police fatigues invaded his hamlet and murdered him, according to top officials.

The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) is a guerrilla warfare commando force of the Central Reserve Police Force that accepts only the toughest and most physically fit soldiers. Apart from those troops assigned with counter-insurgency operations in the northeastern portion of the nation, the majority of its ten battalions are deployed for anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

Also Read: Manipur Violence: Income Tax department officer dragged out of house, killed

The Indian Revenue Service (IRS) Association reported on Friday that an Income Tax Department officer based in Imphal was "dragged out" of his official apartment and slain amid the recent outbreak of violence in Manipur.

In a tweet, the association strongly condemned “the dastardly act of violence resulting in the death of Letminthang Haokip, Tax Assistant in Imphal”. “No cause or ideology can justify the killing of an innocent public servant on duty. Our thoughts are with his family in this difficult hour,” it said.

It also released a photograph of Haokip, claiming he was "dragged out of his official quarter in Imphal by Meitei miscreants and beaten to death." 

The association is an all-India Income Tax department organisation. Over the previous 48 hours, parts of the state have seen brutal ethnic violence, with a defence official claiming that 13,000 people had been rescued and sent to secure shelters.