We have seen many times in movies, government assigning special duty of killing dreaded terrorists or dacaits to retired army official.
In Manipur, the reel has become real. The chief minister N Biren Singh has roped in highly decorated retired Colonel from Indian Army Nectar Sanjenbam for specially created post of Senior Superintendent of Police (Combat).
His role, though not specified, would be to control the ongoing ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities. The violence, continued for several months, has taken hundreds of lives.
The retired Colonel of the Indian Army's elite 21 Para Special Forces (SF) was part of the famous 2015 surgical strike undertaken by the Army against insurgents based in Myanmar near the border.
Colonel Sanjenbam (retd), an alumnus of National Defence Academy would be serving a fixed tenure of five years until further orders. He would be leading the commando battalion of the Manipur police.
He has been appointed through a cabinet decision without the submission of a formal proposal by the state police headquarters, deviating from the typical process for creating new positions within the government departments.
A Shaurya Chakra awardee, Col Sanjenbam was also awarded the Kirti Chakra for his Myanmar operations. He took voluntary retirement last year after commanding a regiment of the Assam Rifles.
The Award winning Operation:
The Kirti Chakra citation awarded to then Lieutenant Colonel Sanjenbam on 8 June, 2015, honours him for “meticulous planning, exemplary gallantry, bold and daring action under most challenging conditions”. The incident cited is a raid on an insurgent camp in Manipur.
During a raid on 08 June in insurgent camp in Manipur, one manned sentry post was identified immediately by the team and the second sentry post was located a little far.
Only for representation
Lt. Col Nectar tasked Havildar TK Limbu and Paratrooper S Chungleingam to neutralise both sentries at the first post whilst he along with Paratrooper P Deuri proceeded to neutralise the sentries at the second post.
Moving stealthily, the officer approached the sentry post and in a daring operation, succeeded in eliminating both insurgents with his silenced Uzi Observing movement in a bunker 30 meters from his position, he along with his buddy crawled towards the bunker and closed in undeterred.
Hearing some talking sounds, unmindful of his personal safety, he lobbed a grenade and in yet another daring action entered the bunker killing the four insurgents.
He then ordered the fire assault with Rocket Launchers into the camp which lasted approximately 20 minutes with heavy volume of rockets and small arms fire by the insurgents from 10 to 12 other bunkers. Lt Col Nectar thereafter ensured the safe return of the raiding team.
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