New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday handed over the probe into the June 04 Manipur ambush, which left 18 Armymen martyred and 11 soldiers injured, to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The Home Ministry today issued a notification formally handing over the case to the NIA, which will immediately start the investigation, official sources said.
Eighteen Indian Army soldiers were killed in an audacious ambush in Manipur's Chandel district on Thursday, carried out by National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang along with the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP).
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has directed that no militant involved in the attack should be allowed to go scot free and strongest possible action should be taken against all those involved in the ambush.
The security forces have intensified a massive combing operation at Chandel district in Manipur to track down the militants involved in the ambush on the Army convoy.
The central government has taken serious note of the incident and directed that all installations of the security forces in Manipur and Nagaland be put on high alert to foil any attempt by the militants to strike again.
Army officials said the militants used rocket-propelled grenades and detonated an IED to attack the Army convoy besides firing indiscriminately with sophisticated weapons.
There has lately been a surge in such attacks in northeastern states like Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, particularly after the NSCN-K abrogated its ceasefire pact with the Indian government in March.
On April 2, three soldiers were killed in an ambush by the NSCN-K in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district.
On May 3, seven Assam Rifles troopers and a Territorial Army soldier were killed in another ambush in Nagaland's Mon district by the newly-floated United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia comprising the NSCN-K, ULFA, Kamatapur Liberation Organisation and NDFB-Songbijit.
