Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Tuesday, 25 March 2025
The Indian Army Wednesday renamed its Khuga Garrison in strife-torn Manipur’s Churachandpur to Viplav Garrison in memory of the late Colonel Viprav Tripathi who was killed in the district along with his wife and six-year-old son in the line of duty.
Colonel Tripathi, of the Assam Rifles’ Spear Corps, was 41 years old when his convoy had driven into an ambush by militants on November 13, 2021.
It was the first major militant attack on the Indian Army since June 2018 in Manipur.
Tripathi was the commanding officer of 46 Assam Rifles battalion, deployed in Manipur for counter-insurgency operations titled Operation Hifazat.
Tripathi, who was from Chhattisgarh, was travelling in a four-vehicle convoy from the Behiang area near the India-Myanmar border back to his battalion headquarters at Khuga. In his car were his wife, Anuja, and son, Abeer.
The convoy came under attack from militants of PLA (People’s Liberation Army) and MNPF (Manipur Naga People’s Front) at Sehkan village in Churachandpur district of Manipur.
The militants first detonated an improvised explosive device and followed it up with indiscriminate firing from vantage points in the surrounding forest area
Apart from Colonel Tripathi, his wife and son, four soldiers – Riflemen Khatnei Konyak, Shyamal Das, R.P. Meena and Suman Swargiary – were also killed in the attack.
Born in 1980, Tripathi was the grandson of Kishori Mohan Tripthi, a freedom fighter who was a member of the Constituent Assembly. Colonel Tripathi’s brother is also a Colonel in the army.
The army observed the occasion of the renaming of the garrison by hosting the inaugural Col Viplav Tripathi Football Tournament. A total of 14 teams played in the tournament.
The Zengsol Football Club won in the women’s category and the Sanggam Football Club won in the men’s category.
Lt Gen Abhijit S Pendharkar, commanding officer of the Spear Corps, presented the trophies.
Parents and relatives of the soldiers present at the venue laid wreaths and paid homage to Colonel Tripathi.
The Spear Corps, part of the Assam Rifles, secures the northeast region and has participated in counter-insurgency operations in Myanmar as well.
