Security forces patrol a road in Manipur (File)
Dimapur/New Delhi:
Security forces sources told NDTV that the people of Manipur should cooperate with the security forces in fighting armed groups that are taking advantage of the ethnic divide in the state to carry out criminal activities.
The appeal comes a day after Manipur Police, in a strongly worded statement, held Meitei armed group Arambai Tenggol (AT) responsible for the attack on a senior police officer in the state capital Imphal.
Members of the Arambai Tenggol call themselves “Village Defense Volunteers”, in response to similar groups of hill-majority Kuki-Zo tribes, with whom the valley-majority Meitei have been engaged in conflict since May 2023.
AT enjoys widespread support in the valley areas. Their supporters say that the AT acts as a layer of defense in the absence of state forces in the foothills.
However, sources in the security forces guarding “sensitive areas” near the foothills have cautioned against the “false ideology of Arambai Tenggol” to mislead people for “personal gain”.
Manipur Police had also said in a statement issued to the media after the press conference of two senior officers that the AT was “involved in several anti-social activities such as attacking civilians, and snatching vehicles from the public and government officials.” ,
“We should give peace a chance. The people of Manipur should understand that there are armed groups there who are using brute force to intimidate them,” a source in the security forces told NDTV on condition of anonymity.
“We are appealing to the people of Manipur to help the security forces bring peace. Several armed groups have taken advantage of the ethnic violence to attack the security forces,” the source said.
In September 2023, Serto Thangthang Kom, a former soldier of the Assam Regiment, was abducted and killed by an unidentified armed group. He was posted in the Defense Service Corps (DSC) at Limakhong, Manipur. “He was on leave at his home in Imphal West at the time of the incident,” the Indian Army’s Spear Corps said in a post on Twitter.
#SpearCorps Pay tribute to Constable Serto Thangthang Kom who was abducted and later murdered by unknown miscreants #Manipur, Sepoy Serto previously served in the Assam Regiment of the Indian Army and was now posted #dsc Platoon at Limakhong Military Station. He was on leave at his place… pic.twitter.com/giRdUdLait
– spearcorps.indianarmy (@spearcorps) 17 September 2023
Two months later, an unidentified armed group abducted four people while they were traveling in an SUV from the hill district of Churachandpur to Limakhong, and killed them. All four were family members of an army soldier serving in Jammu and Kashmir. The fifth passenger, the injured soldier’s father, managed to escape and was later taken to Dimapur for treatment by the army. He was eventually transferred to the base hospital in Guwahati, Assam.
Sources said that the body of the soldier’s mother has been found and she has been kept in the hospital. Sources said officials are working to take the body to Limakhong, from where it can be taken to Churachandpur for cremation.
Security forces sources said the attack on the house of a senior police officer in Imphal city on Tuesday was the latest in a series of incidents involving AT and possibly other armed groups in the valley areas. Following the attack, the state had called in central forces, including the Army, in Imphal city, from where the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act, or AFSPA, had been lifted years ago. This law allows security forces to operate anywhere and arrest anyone without a warrant. AFSPA is active in the hilly areas due to the presence of insurgents of multiple ethnicities along the troubled Myanmar border.
The Army source said, “People need to be made aware of the dangers of falling into the propaganda trap of criminals pretending to work for the society. People should cooperate with the security forces to bring peace in Manipur “
The conflict between the Kuki-Zo tribes and the Meiteis has now dragged on for 10 months. More than 200 people have been killed in the violence and thousands have been internally displaced.
