The Indian security forces have killed 10 functionaries of a rebel outfit battling the military regime in Myanmar in a development that set alarm bells ringing in the Indian security establishment and among resistance groups in Myanmar that are active along the border.
The incident is believed to have happened between last week at a spot along the India-Myanmar border at Chandel in the Indian border state of Manipur.
According to Indian media reports, the incident happened on May 15, when the Assam Rifles gunned down 10 “armed extremists” in Manipur’s Chandel district. There was no information about the group or the ethnicity of the slain functionaries. The Assam Rifles is a paramilitary force that is under the operational control of the Indian Army. The operation was described as one of the “biggest” in recent years.
A post on X by the Indian Army’s Kolkata-based Eastern Command said: “Acting on specific intelligence on movement of armed cadres near the New Samtal village, Khengjoy tehsil, Chandel district, close to the Indo-Myanmar border, Assam Rifles unit under Spear Corps launched an operation on May 14. During the operation, the troops were fired upon by suspected cadres to which they quickly reacted, redeployed and retaliated in a calibrated and measured manner. In the ensuing firefight, 10 cadres were neutralized and a sizeable quantity of arms and ammunition were recovered.”
Under normal circumstances, a press release would have been issued either by the Assam Rifles or the 3 Corps of the army immediately after such an incident. Encounters between Indian security forces and rebel groups, especially from Manipur’s Imphal Valley, are not infrequent along the India-Myanmar border. But an episode where as many as 10 rebels were killed is rare and merited a prompt statement to the media. Such incidents brighten the scope of promotions for the concerned officers.
Soon after the post by the Eastern Command on X, journalists, including this correspondent, scurried to get details of the incident, but without success. Both the Assam Rifles and the Indian Army were tight-lipped, with the standard response that “Efforts are on to confirm the identities of the killed militants,” which was also reported by the media.
Press Release by the PIB
On May 16, the Press Information Bureau of the Indian government issued a statement titled “Ten cadres neutralized and huge cache recovered along the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur.” The statement went to say that a patrolling unit of the Assam Rifles was “fired upon heavily by suspected cadres on 14 May 2025.” The soldiers responded in a “precise, measured and calibrated manner” that resulted in the deaths of ten individuals in camouflage fatigues, it said.
Subsequently, a “thorough combing operation of the area was carried out, wherein a significant cache of weapons, including seven AK-47 rifles, one RGP launcher, one M4 rifle and four single-barrel breech-loading (SBBL) rifles, ammunition, and other war-like stores were recovered.”
Further, the release added that the “neutralized individuals were known for involvement in cross-border insurgent activity. Efforts are underway to confirm their identities.”
Silence on their identity and ethnicity prompted speculation, with some media reports even identifying the deceased rebels as belonging to the Kuki National Army – Burma (KNA-B), which has a chapter in Manipur called KNA, and is among the biggest overground militant outfits in India’s Northeast that is in a ceasefire agreement with the Indian government.
Had the deceased been from the Kuki community, however, the concerned organization would have issued a press release. Social media would also have been flooded with photographs and videos. A senior functionary of an overground Kuki rebel group that has a ceasefire agreement with the government told this correspondent, “The place where the incident happened is mostly a Kuki-inhabited region. But the chances of those killed belonging to our [Kuki] community are very low. If they were, we would have got all the details.”
Incidentally, the KNA-B and some other Kuki outfits have an alliance with Burmese resistance groups in the region against the Myanmar junta. Many rebel outfits from Manipur, including the Meitei groups from the state’s Imphal Valley, National Socialist Council of Nagalim—Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), and a few Kuki-Zo organizations are involved in the ongoing war in Myanmar. Incidents of clashes between Indian security forces and the Kuki groups have been fewer compared to the number of encounters with the Meitei outfits since they espouse a separatist agenda. The NSCN(IM) and Meitei civil society organizations in Imphal have accused the Assam Rifles of having a nexus with the Kuki groups, which was a reason for the government’s decision to deploy contingents of another paramilitary organization (Central Reserve Police Force) in the disturbed state last year.
Victims Were Burmese Rebels
Functionaries of three different resistance outfits in Myanmar engaged in war against the junta, and active along the India-Myanmar border, have confirmed that the 10 deceased militants were members of the Public Protection Team (PPT), a Pa Ka Pha in Myanmar’s Tamu, which is contiguous to Manipur’s Chandel and Tengnoupal border districts. Pa Ka Pha groups, also called the Local Defense Forces (LDFs), are different from the People’s Defense Force (PDF) and the bigger ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) active along Myanmar’s peripheries.
The LDFs have assumed diverse roles in different zones of Myanmar. In Tamu, the Public Protection Force performed police functions and assisted the other PDFs in their operations against the junta. In Kalay, they were engaged in manufacturing weapons and running schools when this correspondent visited the region early in 2023.
Functionaries of the PDFs in Tamu who did not wish to be named disputed the account released to the Indian media. PDF personnel said that the killings were carried out at a spot contiguous to Htin Zin in Tamu Township. “The Assam Rifles squad visited the camp of the Pa Ka Pha inside Myanmar on May 12. Then, two days later, 10 members were apprehended, taken to Manipur’s Chandel and detained for the whole day,” they alleged, adding that “there was no encounter or exchange of fire between the two sides.”
They claimed that until May 16, three of the dead bodies had been identified. “Among them were two 18-year-old boys identified as Aung Phoune Myat and Kaung Htet Wai. Another, who we believe was in his mid-20s, was Maung Kung. They had enrolled as members of the outfit two years ago and had undergone some basic training in policing and handling of weapons.”
Most of the LDFs and PDFs in Myanmar are facing a severe shortage of weapons, which explains why many of them have taken to manufacturing their own weapons and drones. It is difficult to believe that the deceased functionaries of the PPT were equipped with seven AK-47 rifles and an RPG launcher, as claimed by the PIB release. The PDFs in Tamu are in acute need of assault rifles. The price of Kalashnikov rifles has escalated in the grey markets of Southeast Asia over the past decade or so. This explains why the opposition National Unity Government (NUG) in Myanmar had instructed the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to assist the PDFs in Sagaing Region (including Tamu) with their indigenously manufactured assault rifle (K-O9) and training.
Soon after news broke about the killings, a photograph of a blood-stained uniform believed to belong to one of the deceased functionaries was circulated among some WhatsApp groups. On the right shoulder of the uniform was the emblem of the organization and alphabets in Burmese that translates to “LDF.” Below the right pocket is an indication that a sharp-edged weapon might have been pierced into the body of the victim, the PDF functionaries alleged.
Another video and photograph surfaced on May 17 showing the ten bodies in a row over wooden stretchers placed on the ground. The PDF functionaries claimed that the video was of the murdered functionaries, who were dropped across the border in Myanmar after being killed. All the bodies reveal unmistakable signs of torture; their trousers were blood-stained, and one victim had his clothes ripped and was seen lying naked.
The authenticity of the photographs and video could not be independently verified.
What Triggered the Killings?
Speculation is rife about the reasons for the killings. Three theories are doing the rounds among a section of inhabitants along the border, overground rebel functionaries in Manipur, and PDF members in Myanmar.
According to the first theory, there was a “perfect understanding” between the Assam Rifles and the PPT, which is similar to the situation along the border in the state of Mizoram as well. It may be mentioned that a vast swathe of the border region in Myanmar is extremely dependent on India for essential commodities since most of the supply routes from the mainland of the country remain blocked.
The Assam Rifles squad allegedly made an about-turn when the PPT became reluctant to accept some of their demands. Two days later, they were taken to Chandel on a ruse, tortured, and killed. Further, this assumption comes with the belief that the Assam Rifles in that zone was under pressure from the top echelons to produce results.
The second theory is based on the premise that the entire incident was orchestrated by an officer who had an axe to grind with the Burmese rebels owing to his community affiliations. This theory holds that an Assam Rifles officer was nurturing deep grievances against the PPT for their alliance with some organizations and communities whose activities were perceived to be harmful.
The third theory — PDF functionaries are divided on this — is that the killings were a case of mistaken identity. The Assam Rifles erroneously identified the PPT functionaries as belonging to a volunteer group called the UTV, which was reason enough to murder them. The UTV is believed to be close to the Chin Brotherhood Alliance, comprising six armed groups that are active in the southern Chin State of Myanmar.
Security agencies are, apparently, unhappy over the episode. India wants to be seen to be neutral in the ongoing war in Myanmar, although Indian firms have supplied arms and equipment to the junta, as revealed in a United Nations report released two years ago. At the same time, the government is increasingly concerned over China’s increasing grip over the country and the lack of progress with two crucial projects — the India- Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project — deemed crucial for the Act East Policy. The need for a “balancing act” was the reason for the government approving the meeting in Mizoram of Chief Minister Lalduhoma with rebel groups in the neighboring Chin State, with the objective of fostering unity among the warring organizations.
Sources in the Indian government said that an inquiry into the incident in Chandel has been ordered by the Army’s 3 Corps headquarters based in Dimapur.
“How Can We Trust the Indian Government?”
PDF functionaries as far away as Kalay and Chin State are shocked over the incident. Burmese news portals have accused the Assam Rifles of deliberately killing the 10 LDF functionaries. The Chindwin News Agency posted on Facebook, saying, “The Assam Rifle unit of India was responsible for this act, as they opened fire on PDF members who were patrolling areas under their control within Tamu township.” Two photographs of the spot where the incident happened were also uploaded in the post.
A senior functionary of a PDF in Tamu reiterated what he had told this correspondent in an interview two years ago. “We mean no harm to India, Manipur and its government. We are fighting an atrocious and corrupt regime of self-seekers who are hell bent upon destroying Myanmar. India will stand to benefit more if the NUG is able to form the government by defeating the junta. But under such circumstances, how can we trust the Indian government?” he asked this correspondent on the phone from an undisclosed location.
The same refrain was heard among members of the intelligentsia in Myanmar’s Rakhine State last year, where the Arakan Army has occupied more than 80 percent of the region and is in the process of establishing its own government. Most of them referred to the infamous Operation Leech in 1998 when six rebels of the National Party of Arakan (NUPA) and Karen National Union (KNU) were shot dead and 73 captured for allegedly occupying an Indian island for gun-running activities.
The killings in Chandel raise many questions about the Assam Rifles’ mode of operation in the Northeast. In the backdrop of the controversial history of the paramilitary organization in the region and allegations of fake encounters, it is clear that some lacunae exist in the operational command structure of the army that could not be erased over the years to erect a more efficient system. Knee-jerk reactions and determined efforts for a cover-up are invariably observed after such episodes.
Editor’s note: After this article was published, the Press Information Bureau (Defence Wing) of the Government of India issued a rebuttal with its version of events. According to the statement:
The area along Indo-Myanmar Border (IMB) is extremely rugged, highly underdeveloped and lacks connectivity. The area across the IMB, in Myanmar has been rife with different ethnic armed groups who are fighting and violently contesting amongst themselves, as well as with the Myanmar Army, for control of the area, close to the IMB.
India is erecting a Border Fence, to guard against large scale infiltration by inimical elements and curb illegal activities from across the IMB. There have been regular inputs from multiple sources regarding the presence of these armed groups being hostile to fence construction by India. The work is currently progressing at different locations in Manipur along IMB and Indian Security Forces undertake regular patrolling and area domination activities to guard against use of Indian Territory for any illegal activity by the cadres or cause any hindrance to fence work by Border Road Organisation (BRO).
On 14 May 2025, one such patrol of Assam Rifles, out to sanitise the area, where fence construction is underway along the IMB, came under intense automatic fire from armed cadres. Clearly, the likely intent of the cadres was to cause severe harm to construction workers or troops of Assam Rifles to deter the fencing work.
The Indian Security Forces while operating on own side of the IMB responded to the same with professionalism and tactical precision, neutralising 10 cadres and recovering a huge cache of automatic weapons and other war-like stores. No faction / entity laid claim to the mortal remains of the cadres. The deceased cadres, who were found to be dressed in combat fatigues, could later be identified as cadres of Pa Ka Pha (PKP).
Initial details of the operation were shared by Indian Army on the day of operation (14 May 2025) through Social Media and a detailed update on the operation was further released by the Spokesperson and PRO, Ministry of Defence, Kohima on 15
May 2025.Contact across the IMB in Myanmar was established, through existing protocols, and only then did the representatives of the concerned faction collect the mortal remains, more than 48 hours after the operation.
It is reiterated that Indian Army and Assam Rifles operate, as per its mandate, well inside the Indian territory. Allegations made are deliberately misleading, completely baseless and malicious.
The full statement can be viewed here.
The Diplomat’s sources in Myanmar, as well as an official statement from the NUG, strenuously dispute that the resistance functionaries were killed in an armed encounter.