Police personnel across the Meitei-dominated valley districts of Manipur laid down arms on February 28 to protest against the abduction of a police officer by members of Arambai Tenggol, a radical Meitei outfit.
On February 27, around 200 armed miscreants stormed the residence of Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Moirangthem Amit in Imphal East, seeking the release of Robin M., chief of Arambai Tenggol’s Sekmai unit, who was arrested earlier in the day for allegedly snatching a vehicle from a petrol pump.
“In the midst of the incident, the Addl SP and one of his escorts were abducted by the armed miscreants. They were later rescued from Kwakeithel Konjeng Leikai area and admitted to Raj Medicity for medical treatment,” Manipur Police said in a post on X.
Police said the “armed miscreants” vandalised household property at the police officer’s residence, after which additional security forces were rushed to the spot. In the resulting police action, two people, identified as Rabinash Moirangthem, 24, and Kangujam Bhimsen, 20, sustained injuries.
‘Our hands are tied’
A Manipur Police official said that the force’s morale was down. “None of the civil society groups have come out in our support. Our hands are tied, we are stopped from taking action against the miscreants. Our own people are not supporting us. The police officer who was attacked is also a Meitei,” the police official said.
Arambai Tenggol (AT), a relatively new outfit that gained prominence after the ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities started in Manipur on May 3, 2023, enjoys tremendous support among the Meitei people, a government official said.
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“It is not that AT members are not being arrested. Cases under the anti-terror UAPA [Unlawful Activities Prevention Act] are also being registered against them but they have the support of the local people. Whenever an AT cadre is arrested, a crowd gathers and demands his release. In some cases, they are also let off by the courts,” said the official.
Armed civilians
The government official said that there are “many strings attached” when it comes to action against AT members. “We have to tread cautiously as any small incident here can lead to a mass uprising. There are also apprehensions that a police officer may be lynched or shot dead. Civilians here are armed to the teeth,” the official said.
After ethnic violence erupted in the State last year, more than 4,000 weapons and lakhs of rounds of ammunition were looted from police armouries across the State. Despite appeals by the State government, these weapons have not been returned and are believed to be in civilian hands.
On January 24, AT summoned 37 Manipur MLAs, and at least two members of Parliament to administer to them an oath to “convey the people’s concerns to the Centre”. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee’s president K. Meghachandra had been brutally assaulted at the meeting in Imphal’s Kangla Fort.
Extortion cases
Other than AT, the armed cadres of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) — the oldest valley-based armed insurgent group, which signed a peace pact with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the State Government on November 29, 2023 — are also posing a huge security challenge and are supported by local residents in Meitei areas.
As reported by The Hindu, there has been a sharp rise in cases of extortion in the valley areas of the State “in the name of UNLF” since the peace pact was signed, and the outfit has also been found to be involved in attacks against security forces.
Manipur was been on edge since May last year after ethnic violence erupted between the tribal Kuki-Zo people who live in the hills, and the Meitei people in the valley. Thousands of people were displaced and around 200 have been killed. A sharp division was witnessed among police ranks along community lines. Presently, police officials belonging to the Kuki-Zo community are posted in the hills and Meitei policemen are deployed primarily in the valley areas.
CM meets police officers
Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh met the Manipur Police Service (MPS) officers on February 29. “Chaired a meeting with the MPS officers at my residential office to address the grievances of the State security personnel who had launched a strike today,” he posted on X.
