Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel lost their lives in an attack by Kuki militants starting from Friday midnight at the Naransena area in Manipur, police said.

According to the police, the CRPF personnel were attacked by Kuki militants starting from midnight till 2:15 am.

The personnel who lost their lives are from the CRPF 128 Battalion deployed at the Naransena area in Bishnupur district in the state.

Meanwhile, Manipur Chief Electoral Officer, Pradeep Kumar Jha on Friday highlighted higher turnout and minimal incidents of violence in Outer Manipur in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls.

“Till the last report that we received about an hour back, the voting percentage was in the range of 75 per cent and no major hiccups were reported,” said Manipur Chief Electoral Officer.

He also said that people came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise during the second phase of voting. One incident of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) malfunctioning was reported at a polling booth and no major hiccups were reported.

“Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency, the 13 assembly segments… The voting has remained peaceful… One incident of damage to EVM has been reported so far. We are looking into it and have been following up with all the districts and they have reported that voting has been peaceful,” he told ANI.

Jha further said that voting in the Outer Manipur constituency had been relatively more peaceful compared to the 2019 election.

“People have turned out in huge numbers. As compared to the previous elections, the election in Outer Manipur has been very peaceful… We are very hopeful that by late evening today, we should have a clear picture. Except for one or two incidents, nothing major has happened and voting has been very encouraging,” Jha added.

According to the voter turnout app of the Election Commission of India, 78.78 per cent of votes were recorded till the last report.

Earlier, re-polling was held in 11 polling stations of the Inner Manipur constituency on April 22, after multiple incidents of violence were reported during the first phase of polling on April 19.

Polling for the second phase in 88 seats across 13 states and Union Territories (UTs) ended at 6 pm.

The first phase of voting for the seven-phased general elections was conducted successfully on April 19 in 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories.

According to the Election Commission, the overall voter turnout in the opening phase was recorded at over 62 per cent.

The next round of polling will be held on May 7. The counting of votes and results will be declared on June 4.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh condemned the attack on Indian security forces that led to the unfortunate demise of two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the Naransena region of Bishnupur district.

Singh labelled the assault as an act of cowardice against the committed security forces who are working relentlessly to maintain peace and stability in the state.

He assured that their sacrifice will not be forgotten.

“Strongly condemn the assault carried out against the Indian security forces, resulting in the tragic loss of two CRPF personnel in the Naransena area of Bishnupur district. Such actions demonstrate cowardice against dedicated security personnel who work tirelessly day and night to uphold peace and stability in the state. Their sacrifice will not go in vain,” wrote Biren Singh on his X handle.

Earlier on April 27, two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in an attack by suspected Kuki militants in Manipur’s Naransena area.

The police stated that the attack began at midnight and continued till 2:15 am in the area.

The personnel are from CRPF’s 128 Battalion deployed at the Naransena area in Bishnupur district in the state.

As per sources, on April 27, around 00:45 hours, armed groups reportedly fired towards a village in the Naransena area, under the jurisdiction of the Moirang police station, Bishnupur District.

The bomb, fired by the armed groups, fell and exploded inside the outpost of B/128 Bn CRPF at Narayansena.

Further, the explosion resulted in injuries to four personnel: Insp/Gd Jadav Das, SI/GD N Sarkar, HC/GD Arup Saini, and CT/GD Aftab Hussain while SI/GD N Sakar and HC/GD Arup Saini succumbed to their injuries.