The Centre has deployed 90 additional companies, or nearly 9,000 personnel, of the Central Armed Police Force in Manipur since August, state Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh said on Friday, reported The Hindu.
Presently, 288 Central Armed Police Force companies, which comes to around 29,000 personnel, were deployed in the conflict-ridden state, Singh said at a press conference in Imphal. Apart from this, personnel from the state police, the Army and the Assam Rifles were also present in Manipur.
Singh also said that the number of persons, including suspected militants, killed in the state since the clashes broke out between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmars in May 2023 had risen to 258.
Singh’s statements came amid an uptick in ethnic violence in Manipur over the past two weeks.
On November 11, the state police said that 10 suspected Kuki militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jiribam district.
However, Kuki-Zo-Hmar organisations claimed that the persons killed in the gunfight were village volunteers. The term “village volunteers” has been used for armed civilians guarding villages since the ethnic clashes broke out between the two communities in 2023.
After the gunfight, three women and three children, including an infant, from the Meitei community were abducted allegedly by Kuki militants. Their bodies were found floating on the Barak and Jiri rivers over the past week.
The abduction led to protests on November 16, with mobs storming and vandalising the homes of MLAs, including of chief minister’s son-in-law Rajkumar Imo Singh. Mobs also ransacked the offices of the BJP and the Congress.
At the press conference on Friday, Singh said that the police will look into the claims that the Meitei family was abducted in the presence of security forces, according to The Hindu.
“Whether they were SoO [Suspension of Operations] militants or not, will be verified by police,” he added.
The Suspension of Operations agreement was signed between the Centre, the Manipur government and two conglomerates of Kuki militant outfits – the Kuki National Organisations and United Peoples Front – in 2008.
Under the agreement, the security forces as well as the militant groups are prohibited from launching operations. The militant groups must abide by the laws of the land and are also confined to designated camps identified by the Central government.
Earlier this year, the state government withdrew from the pact when it came up for annual extension.
Singh said that 32 persons had been arrested for incidents of arson and vandalism at the homes and properties of legislators, The Hindu reported. A meeting to review security measures was also held in Imphal and combing operations were being conducted in the state, he added.
On Friday, the last rites were performed in Jiribam for nine persons who had died since November 11, which included the six persons abducted and killed, two others who were burned to death and one person who was shot by the police, according to The Hindu.