Imphal, Sep 3 (Reporter) Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday criticised the recent drone bomb attack on residents in Koutruk and vowed to bring the culprits to book. In a social media post, the Chief Minister said, “Dropping of bombs on civilian population and security forces by using drones is an act of terrorism, and I condemn such cowardly acts in the strongest terms. Manipur state government takes such unprovoked assault with utmost seriousness and will take up the necessary response to fight such forms of terrorism upon the indigenous population. We denounce all forms of violence, and the people of Manipur shall unite together against hate, division, and separatism.” Aerial and ground attacks by armed Kuki militants continued for the third day on Tuesday. So far, two persons, including a woman, have died and 10 persons, including three police personnel, women and children, and a journalist, have been injured. The dropping of powerful bombs has destroyed large numbers of houses. Meanwhile, Manipur DGP Rajiv Singh has formed a high level committee to look into the unprecedented attack in Koutruk by alleged Kuki militants by deploying numerous high-tech drones. An Additional DGP of Manipur Police will lead the committee that will also include two Major General-rank Army officers and officers of the Central Reserve Police Force and the Border Security Force. They will submit the report by September 13. Meanwhile, Lt Gen (Retd) L Nishikanta Singh, in a social media post, asked how the armed drones were brought so deep into Indian territory. The place where it was used was about 150 km from the border, he added. Due to the massive bombardments from Kangpokpi district of the state, people living near the foothills have fled, and few men who stayed back to guard their villages spent the night on the streets. All the villages in the foothills near Kangpokpi district shut off electricity after dark as the Kuki militants were using high-tech, sophisticated weapons to target the villages. The villagers who fled the area said the bombs fell at Koutruk, Kadangband, Sinam, Sabungkhok Khunou, Thamnapokpi, Shantikhong Bal, Senjam Chirang, and other places of Imphal West. Some bunkers used by security personnel to protect the villagers were also destroyed by the Kuki militants. After the recent attack, joint operations by security forces were conducted in border areas between Churachandpur and Kakching districts, Churachandpur and Bishnupur Districts, Kangpokpi and Imphal West, Kangpokpi and Imphal East, and Kakching and Tengnoupal. A BJP MLA questioned the inaction of the 60,000 Assam Rifles and other central forces who are stationed in the state when such acts were committed on civilians. Civil society members in Manipur blamed support from Kuki militants from Myanmar, through the porous border, for the recent incident. Only10 km out of the 390 km international border in the state is fenced. The Kuki militants in Myanmar were supplying arms, drones to Kuki militants in Manipur, it was alleged. Attempts to fence the border were stopped by Kuki organisations on the ground that there should be free movement of Kuki people...////...