Drone bombs explode in Manipur’s Imphal West; arms cache recovered in Bishnupur

Additionally, a large cache of arms, explosives, and ammunition was recovered from the fringe areas of Aigejang and Leimaram Uyok Ching in Bishnupur district on Wednesday.

An officer said that Kuki militants are suspected to be behind the drone attack in Imphal West. “Two bombs exploded around 9.27 pm and 9.30 pm, respectively, suspected to have been dropped from drones. The explosions occurred approximately 15 feet away from a temporary security barrack and sentry post of the Manipur police,” the officer said, adding that this is the first drone bombing incident of 2025.

A similar attack occurred in the village on November 11, 2024.

A team of forensic experts conducted an investigation at the site and recovered fragments of the bombs. “Propellers from the drones were recovered at the scene, attached to a ring,” the officer added.

“Manipur police commandos, along with Lamshang police, responded to the scene. However, no further gunfire was reported. We are taking necessary security measures to prevent any untoward incidents,” said a Manipur police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Ajit, a villager from Kangchup, a Meitei-dominated area, told HT that no drones had been spotted in the area since November 11 last year. “However, over the last three days, drones were frequently seen flying around. We didn’t panic, assuming they were surveillance drones,” he said.

The incident occurred on the hilltops of Kangchup and the adjoining areas of Kangpokpi district, where central forces are deployed, including four companies of the 112th and 158th battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

“We don’t want compensation after injuries or deaths caused by militant attacks. We want peace to be restored with the help of the nearly 60,000 central forces reportedly deployed in Manipur,” Ajit added.

A case was registered at Lamshang police station, and further investigation is underway.

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Meanwhile, in a joint operation, state and central security forces recovered a cache of arms, explosives, and ammunition, including an SLR rifle with a magazine, a 51 mm mortar tube launcher, a sniper rifle, three 40 mm lathode shells, four SLR live rounds, four 36 HE grenades, a smoke bomb, two wireless sets, cartridges, rubber bullets, and shells, from the fringe areas of Aigejang and Leimaram Uyok Ching.

The operation followed intelligence reports about armed miscreants and hidden weapon caches in the area. The seized items were handed over to the Nambol police station for further investigation.