Trooper kills six colleagues in Manipur

Imphal, Jan 22 An Assam Rifles trooper shot dead six of his colleagues with his service weapon and injured many including civilians in Manipur’s Ukhrul district Wednesday night, officials said.

The dead include a junior commissioned officer of the 17 Assam Rifles unit that is engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the northeastern state, the officials said.

They said a Naga trooper ran amok after an altercation and went on a shooting spree killing six colleagues inside barracks in Ukhrul, some 85 km from here.

Two troopers were critically injured and an unspecified number of civilians were wounded when the accused escaped from the spot and fired indiscriminately.

The exact number of civilians injured was not known, the officials said.

The accused trooper continues to be on the run and paramilitary and police forces have launched a major manhunt to nab him, said the officials.