Indian police launched a massive manhunt Thursday for a soldier who killed six of his colleagues in a shooting spree in the north-east state of Manipur, a defence official said. The soldier from the Assam Rifles unit reportedly had an argument with an officer and then started firing indiscriminately, killing the man before shooting colleagues who rushed to the scene.
"We are still trying to establish exactly what led to the provocation and what were the reasons were for the verbal argument," defence spokesman Shamser Jung told AFP. The incident occurred on Wednesday night about 90 kilometres (55 miles) from Imphal, the capital of remote Manipur state which borders Myanmar. The Assam Rifles are deployed in India's revolt-hit north-east, where many militant separatist groups are active. The posting is considered one of the most stressful in the army.