Retired Army Officer Who Led Surgical Strike In Myanmar, Tasked To Handle Violence In Manipur

An Indian Army Special Forces officer, Colonel Nectar Sanjenbam (Retired), who led the 2015 surgical strike inside Myanmar, has been appointed as an officer in the police by the Manipur government.

According to reports, the officer belonging to the elite 21 PARA SF, has been appointed as a senior superintendent of police (SSP)-combat.

This appointment comes amid the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur between two tribes — the hill-dominated Kukis and the valley-dominated Meiteis.

The violence, which began in May 2023 after a Manipur High Court order requesting the government to consider the inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe list, shows no signs of abating.

SSP (Combat) is a new post created by Manipur Home Ministry on 28 August.

The Manipur Governor released a statement announcing Colonel Nectar's appointment as SSP (Combat), stating that it was done "in relaxation of all prevalent recruitment norms as a special case."

According to the statement, Colonel Nectar is appointed to this post for a fixed tenure of five months. Colonel Nectar will be in charge of the commando battalion of the Manipur police.

A recipient of the Shaurya Chakra award, the officer was a part of the elite 21 PARA SF of the Indian Army that conducted an operation inside Myanmar in 2015.

Interestingly, his citation, as is often the case, mentions his operations in Manipur rather than Myanmar.

According to the citation, Colonel Nectar eliminated six insurgents using his silenced Uzi pistols while leading the assault on the insurgent camp.

At the time of the raid, he held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Colonel and also commanded the Assam Rifles battalions.