GUWAHATI: After fresh violence broke out in a few parts of strife-torn Manipur, the security forces stepped up search operations in vulnerable and fringe areas and destroyed seven illegal bunkers.
“Security forces conducted search operations in the vulnerable and fringe areas of the state. Joint security forces conducted an operation in Koutruk hill range and destroyed 07 (seven) illegal bunkers,” the Manipur Police tweeted on Friday.
Fresh gunfights, which erupted at Koutruk, Haraothel and Senjam Chirang areas on the border of Imphal West and Kangpokpi districts on Thursday morning, had left security personnel dead and a civilian injured. The illegal bunkers were destroyed following the gunfights.
In another incident on Thursday, over 20 people were injured when the security forces used force to quell a mob which was headed to a disputed site to prevent a mass burial of the bodies of tribals killed in the violence earlier.
Manipur Police have launched a probe into Thursday’s looting of arms and ammunition by a mob. Director General of Police Rajiv Singh told journalists the culprits would not be spared.
“We have taken the incident of arms looting very seriously. An IG (inspector general) has gone there to conduct a probe and find out how it happened despite security arrangements put in place,” Singh said.
He said raids were conducted following the incident and some weapons were recovered. He did not share the figures of the arms and ammunition looted and recovered.
“Such incidents will not be tolerated. The guilty will be nabbed,” Singh said, adding that all central and state forces are working to ensure peace prevails in Manipur.
The police said an unruly mob stormed an India Reserve Battalion and two police outposts on Thursday and looted a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the armouries. The police did not share exact figures.
Another attempt was made to loot weapons from two Manipur Rifles battalions and two police stations but the security forces repelled the miscreants.
In the wake of the violence, a total curfew was reimposed in some vulnerable districts on Thursday. It was relaxed from 5 am to 12 noon in Imphal East and Imphal West districts on Friday.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) visited some relief camps in Meitei as well as the Kuki areas and interacted with the inmates. The delegation also met the leaders of some civil society organisations.
The NESO appealed to the Centre to take initiatives for restoring peace and normalcy through a continuous process of dialogues and discussions.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum slammed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for his alleged statement in the Supreme Court on August 1 that most of the bodies lying unclaimed were that of “infiltrators.”
“For the second-highest law officer in the country to make such unwarranted comments in the Supreme Court shows his prejudice and reveals that his office is openly partial in its handling of the ethnic conflict,” the tribal organisation said in a statement.