Manipur: Assam Rifles Ambush Raises Questions on AFSPA Rollback Strategy

Two Soldiers Killed in Bishnupur District After Area Lost Special Security Status

By Vishal Arora

September 21, 2025

A screenshot from a post on X by the Assam Rifles.

Two soldiers from the Assam Rifles were killed and five others injured in an ambush by armed attackers on Sept. 19 as their convoy was passing through a crowded area in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, which had recently lost its designation under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). The incident has exposed serious flaws in how security laws have been withdrawn from conflict-hit parts of the state.

According to official reports, the convoy belonged to the 33 Assam Rifles and was travelling along National Highway 2 around 5:50 PM on Sept. 19 when it came under fire in Nambol Sabal Leikai area. The attackers, described by authorities as “unidentified terrorists,” fired on the vehicles, killing Naib Subedar Shyam Gurung and Rifleman Ranjit Singh Kashyap. Five others were shot and taken to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal, where they are said to be in stable condition.

Soon after the attack, the Governor of Manipur, which is currently under President’s rule, held a high-level security meeting at the Raj Bhavan with top officials from the army, police and intelligence agencies. That evening, the Governor visited the Assam Rifles’ base in Mantripukhri to pay tribute to the two soldiers. A wreath-laying ceremony and general salute were held in their honour.

Insurgent Groups

The ambush must bring renewed attention to armed Meitei insurgent groups in the Imphal Valley and nearby areas. Some of these groups have been linked to earlier attacks on security forces. The most well-known among them include the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), and the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL).

These groups were formed between the 1960s and 1980s, based on a political belief that Manipur’s merger with India was unjust, and they demand either full independence or a separate socialist state. Although weakened over time due to military operations and internal rifts, they continue to operate secretly—some more openly—and carry out attacks on government forces and infrastructure.

Their hostility toward the Assam Rifles comes from the force’s active role in tracking and stopping their movements. The Assam Rifles often conduct raids, gather intelligence and block the smuggling of arms and drugs, which are key sources of funding for these groups. Its close work with central agencies and strong presence in the valley has made it a consistent threat to the goals of the insurgents.

May 2023 Violence

Today’s security situation in Manipur is also influenced by large-scale ethnic violence that broke out in May 2023. This followed a court order that recommended granting Scheduled Tribe status to the Meitei community, which is the dominant group in the valley. The decision caused fear among the Kuki-Zo tribes in the hill districts, who worried it would affect their rights to land, resources and political voice. What followed was one of the most destructive periods in Manipur’s recent history.

More than 250 people were killed, mostly from the Kuki-Zo community. Over 40,000 were forced to flee their homes. Thousands of houses and places of worship were burned. Reports of sexual violence, arson and targeted killings deepened the divide between communities. Ordinary Meiteis also suffered significantly during the violence, but the number of Meitei deaths remains unclear, as Meitei groups have not released any figures. It is believed that many of the casualties may have occurred during attempts to enter Kuki-Zo areas for attacks.

Meitei extremist groups were accused of leading the violence, with alleged support or negligence by the then state government under Chief Minister Biren N. Singh. Accompanying the violence was a misinformation campaign, seemingly designed to win support from ordinary Meiteis for those brutal actions. The local police either failed or refused to control the violence, and weapons were stolen from their armouries. Some police units were also accused of taking part in the attacks.

The chaos has left behind a fragile and dangerous situation in which important decisions like withdrawing AFSPA continue to be made.

The Assam Rifles also came under attack from Meitei extremist groups like Arambai Tenggol, which rose to prominence during and after the 2023 unrest. These groups spread misinformation, accusing the force of siding with Kuki-Zo communities. What they did not say openly was that their real anger stemmed from the Assam Rifles blocking what they called community defence efforts. Survivors from Kuki-Zo areas, however, described those efforts as planned assaults on their settlements.

Throughout the unrest, the Assam Rifles appeared to remain neutral and showed restraint. Their presence was key in preventing attacks on tribal areas, especially in the buffer zones between the valley and the hills. This made them a serious obstacle to extremist groups looking to carry out attacks under the cover of ethnic mobilisation.

But now, ordinary Meiteis appear to recognise the constructive role played by the Assam Rifles. While Kuki-Zo communities in Churachandpur and other areas held peaceful demonstrations in solidarity with the fallen soldiers and their families, Meiteis also organised rallies condemning the ambush. The killing of security personnel may not draw the same attention as civilian deaths, but each soldier is a human being, with families who love them just as deeply. The rallies and demonstrations across the state acknowledged this simple truth.

AFSPA

It is important to look at the implications of the AFSPA, which was introduced in 1958, in the context of insurgency, the May 2023 violence and the role of the Assam Rifles. The legislation gives the army and other forces special powers in areas marked as “disturbed” by the central or state government. Under AFSPA, soldiers can search homes without a warrant, arrest people on suspicion, and use deadly force if they believe it is needed to maintain public order.

The law was originally introduced to tackle the Naga insurgency in the Northeast, but it has long faced criticism for enabling abuse and lacking accountability, particularly in the Kashmir region. The Assam Rifles has also faced accusations of misusing AFSPA in Manipur, where the law has been in force for many years, with regular reviews deciding which areas stay under its coverage.

Most documented cases of AFSPA misuse by the Assam Rifles in Manipur appear to stem from actions by individual soldiers or officers, rather than formal institutional orders. However, the structural protections provided by AFSPA, such as immunity from prosecution without central government sanction, have allowed such actions to go unpunished or poorly investigated, according to human rights groups. 

In March 2022, the central government began removing AFSPA from selected police station areas in Manipur. Fifteen police stations across six districts, including Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, and Bishnupur, where the recent ambush took place, were among the first to see this change. These districts are predominantly Meitei-inhabited and lie in the Imphal Valley, which has better infrastructure and a stronger government presence than the surrounding hill districts.

In 2023, more police station areas such as Lamsang, Sekmai and Moirang, all in Meitei-majority zones, were also denotified. However, in some of these areas, AFSPA was later reimposed amid fresh violence and insurgent activity. In contrast, the hill districts with large Kuki-Zo and Naga populations have remained almost entirely under AFSPA.

Officials have not fully explained the reasons behind choosing which areas to denotify. The decisions have been said to be part of efforts to return to normal governance and meet public demands to reduce the military’s presence in the valley. But critics say these moves were influenced by politics, especially to show progress ahead of national elections and to respond to pressure from Meitei groups who strongly oppose AFSPA.

While the removal of AFSPA was welcomed by some, it was not followed by strengthening local police or improving intelligence gathering. This left many areas exposed to the risk of attacks from insurgents or extremist groups.

The decision to remove AFSPA from parts of the valley was made even as Manipur remained deeply divided along ethnic lines after the 2023 violence. Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities now live in strictly separated zones. People from one group, including officials and police, cannot safely enter areas controlled by the other. Informal checkpoints and armed groups enforce this separation. In such a deeply divided situation, removing AFSPA only from Meitei-majority areas seems less like a security-based decision and more like a political compromise. This is especially striking because armed Kuki-Zo groups are not seeking independence from India, and most of them have signed peace agreements with the government and are engaged in ongoing talks.

The latest ambush in a denotified area shows that even under direct central control through President’s Rule, Manipur seems to be carrying forward the partisan policies of previous state governments, particularly those led by former Chief Minister Singh. The state still lacks a unified policing system. This division puts communities at risk, undermines law enforcement and creates a larger threat to national security.

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