GUWAHATI: Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen PC Nair said that the paramilitary force had been faced with an unprecedented situation in the ethnic violence-hit Manipur. He said that the Assam Rifles – the country’s oldest paramilitary force deployed in the Northeast – never faced a situation of such a scale before.
He mentioned that the clashes between Nagas and Kukis, and within Kuki groups in the 1990s were not of such an extent. Reportedly, rampaging mobs looted over 4,000 weapons and bullets from police armories earlier.
Nair expressed deep concern that the society in Manipur has been ‘weaponized’ in the wake of the violence and said that the challenge would remain unless these weapons could be retrieved. According to the Assam Rifles DG, road blockade is another challenge. National Highways 2 and 37 are Manipur’s lifelines.
On the illegal migration of armed miscreants from Myanmar to the state, he said several of them were apprehended by the Assam Rifles and handed over to the police in the past.
“But if people are still coming with weapons, then that is an area of concern,” Lt Gen Nair said.
Sporadic violence has continued but he is confident the state is headed to better times. As the Assam Rifles is working tirelessly to restore peace, it has also faced the accusation of aiding Kuki militants.
On August 5, Manipur Police registered a case against the personnel of the 9th Assam Rifles for allegedly obstructing them in discharging official duties, stating that this helped some militants escape to safety after killing three persons.
Lt Gen Nair said the force is not biased. To prove a point, he said illegal bunkers, set up by people from both warring communities, were destroyed and illegal weapons, possessed by them, were seized. He said the number of people from both sides helped by the force was also equal.
First status report on probe by October first week
The first status report on the investigation of cases in ethnic violence-hit Manipur will be submitted by the first week of October, said DD Padsalgikar, who has been appointed by the Supreme Court to monitor and supervise the cases handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation and special investigation teams. He called on Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey and apprised her of the prevailing situation in the state, an official statement said.