New Delhi: Contrary to claims, there was no proof that artillery from Myanmar had hit Indian soil, the state government said on January 15.
Residents of Farkawn in Mizoram’s Champhai district, which lies on the Indo-Myanmar border, had said that a bomb from a military operation by Myanmar that was targeted at Myanmarese resistance fighters had dropped in their village on January 10. The Assam Rifles had denied that any explosion took place on the Indian side on January 12.
Air strike strayed to India?
On January 10, a Myanmarese newspaper The Irrawaddy had reported that a Myanmar army airstrike on Mount Victoria, the headquarters of the Chin National Front (CNF) in Chin State on the western border of the country, had claimed the lives of five ethnic Chin resistance fighters, including two women. One of the five bombs launched by the army during this strike landed on the Indian side, in Mizoram’s Champai district, it said.
The Indian Express quoted Mc Lalramenga, president of the local Young Mizo Association chapter, as saying that a bomb landed “around 30 metres” from the river Tiau. The river marks the international boundary between India and Myanmar. The report also quoted a Champai district official saying that at least one shell fell on the Indian side and though a truck parked on the bank of the River Tiau close to the border was damaged, there was no casualty. The bombing continued on January 11 too, causing residents of Farkawn to stay indoors in fear, as per the news report.
Also read: Locals Claim a Bomb From Myanmar Army Against Rebels Landed in Mizoram, Assam Rifles Deny
A PTI report also quoted Lalramliana, the president of Farkawn village council in Champai, as saying that a bomb was dropped near Tiau river on the Mizoram side and that a truck owned by a village council member had been damaged.
The Assam Rifles had denied that an aerial strike had hit Indian territory on January 12.
‘No proof, only shrapnel’
The Mizoram government said on January 14 that there was no evidence that an airstrike hit Indian soil, reported The New Indian Express. It quoted James Lalrinchhana, the district magistrate of Champhai, as saying that while pieces of shrapnel were recovered from the Tiau riverbed, there was nothing to support people’s claims that Mizoram was hit.
As per the news report, Lalrinchhana submitted a report based on these findings to the Home Department on Friday evening. The district magistrate was hopeful that the situation would return to normal soon, the report said.