A day after two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Manipur by unidentified militants, a senior government official said on Sunday that the target seemed to be Meitei members of the State police. The CRPF unit stationed at the camp had withdrawn few days ago while a platoon stayed back. The militants mistook the personnel at the camp for State police forces, officials said, adding that such attacks and violence are expected to continue if a political solution is not arrived at.
The camp at Naranseina in Bishnupur district belongs to the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) of Manipur Police.
Kuldiep Singh, Security Adviser, Manipur government, said investigations were on and the police will be able to catch the culprits soon. A day ago he had said that this was one of the first instances when Central security forces considered to be “neutral” by both the communities were attacked by militants since the violence began last year. Over 200 people have been killed in Manipur since May 3, 2023, when ethnic violence between the tribal Kuki-Zo and the majority Meitei people erupted in the State.
Buffer zones have been carved out in hill and valley areas of the State where Kuki-Zo and Meitei populations are located. Central security forces and the Army are deployed in the buffer zones to keep the warring communities from attacking each other.
Due to the ongoing Lok Sabha election, around 5,000 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) or the paramilitary forces were withdrawn from Manipur in the first week of April. In wake of the election, the Central forces were reorganised for deployment at polling booths and patrolling, among others. Around 36,000 personnel from the Army and CAPFs were deployed in the State with a sizeable presence in the buffer zones. One of the other reasons being attributed for the attack is the thinning of the Central forces.
“A series of incidents have been reported in the past one month ahead of the big event [election] in the State. The most recent was on April 24 when an explosion occurred on a bridge in Kangpokpi, two days ahead of the second phase of polling. We understand that the attack on vital installations was being done to draw the attention of the Central government to find a political solution,” the official said.
Kuki-Zo civil society groups and the insurgent groups or the SoO (Suspension of Operations) groups who are negotiating peace talks with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs since 2008 have demanded a separate administration for the community after the ethnic violence.
While addressing a political rally in Imphal on April 16, Home Minister Amit Shah said that “no one will ever have the courage to break Manipur apart.”
Another government official said that five to seven militants armed with sophisticated weapons were involved in the attack at the camp of security forces on Saturday.
“They must have thought that CRPF personnel had withdrawn and only local police were there. At the time of the attack, there was no electricity at the camp due to storm and rain. The attackers first fired at the sentry post, injuring personnel. Other CRPF personnel retaliated and tried to chase them away. The exchange of fire continued for around 40-45 minutes,” the official said.
