Manipur: More central forces sent to Manipur amid Meitei outfit’s appeal to boycott Biren govt | India News – Times of India
CM Biren falling foul of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an Imphal valley-based forum, over his failure to protect lives was a double whammy after two MLAs of the Kuki People’s Alliance — an NDA ally — withdrew support to the government. Thousands of supporters had congregated in front of Biren’s Imphal residence on the day he purportedly intended to resign, culminating in some women snatching and tearing the letter into shreds.
COCOMI attributed the resurgence of violence to the administration allegedly not taking heed of civil society’s demand to rein in “Chin Kuki narco terrorists”. At a July 29 rally, the organisation had sought a special assembly session within five days.
COCOMI leader Jitendra Ningomba questioned the circumstances of Saturday’s pre-dawn attack in which three people – a father-son duo and their neighbour – were killed at Kwakta in Bishnupur district’s Moirang. He said the government should answer how assailants could enter a village guarded by Assam Rifles personnel.
Many of the automatic rifles and mortar shells used by the perpetrators of Saturday’s violence are suspected to be those looted by a mob from the armoury of the 2nd India Reserve Battalion headquarters in Bishnupur district on Thursday.
Mobs and security forces clashed till late Saturday, with arsonists burning down at least 15 houses at Langol village and the New Checkon area of Imphal.
The Army said militants attacked one of its units at Mongcham during one of several combing operations following the Kwakta killings. An armed member of the Kuki Independent Army (KIA), one of the smaller outfits not in ceasefire with the government, was wounded in retaliatory fire and arrested. An SLR, ammunition and other equipment were seized, the Army said.
The KIA is suspected to have been involved in the looting of arms and ammunition in Churachandpur in April, preceding the start of the ethnic conflict.
Manipur Police said security forces had been continuously raiding sites in the hills and valley to recover looted arms and ammunitions. At last count, 1,057 weapons and 14,201 rounds of ammunition were retrieved in the valley, and 138 arms and 121 rounds of ammunition in the hill districts.
Of the loot from the 2nd IRB armoury in Bishnupur, security forces have been able to recover 15 weapons.
Police said four weapons snatched by miscreants from a police team at Toupokpi outpost in Lilong Chajing of Imphal West district on Saturday were recovered after a chase. One suspect was arrested and the car used by the snatchers was seized.
The reinforcements sent by the Centre from the CRPF, SSB, ITBP and BSF add to the 9,000 personnel, or 124 companies of central armed police forces, already deployed in the troubled state since the ethnic conflict exploded on May 3. Around 10,000 soldiers have also been on the ground for more than two months, assisting in area-domination, sanitisation and other law and order exercises.
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Violence continues in Manipur: 6 killed in daylong mortar and gun attacks
So far, the administration has suspended five police officers of Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district, under whose jurisdiction three women were stripped and two of them paraded naked on May 4. The mob killed the father and brother of one of the women, who was also gangraped.
The officer in-charge of the police station was the first to be suspended in July.
