Manipur Tribal Bodies Threaten To Intensify Protest If 5 Arrested Not Released In 48 Hours

Tribal bodies in Manipur have threatened to intensify protests if the five arrested by the central agencies are not released within 48 hours.

A town in Manipur’s Churachandpur district during the indefinite shutdown on Monday.

Guwahati: The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a conglomerate of recognised tribes in the Lamka town of Outer Manipur, on Monday demanded that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) release the five people arrested by the central agencies within 48 hours and warned of more “intense agitations” apart from the indefinite shutdown in the hill areas if the demand was not met. A complete shutdown in the tribal-dominated Churachandpur district, in protest against the arrests, has brought normal life to a standstill.

The NIA on Saturday arrested a teacher, Seiminlun Gangte, from the state’s Churachandpur district, in a case related to a “transnational conspiracy” involving Myanmar and Bangladesh-based “terror groups”, allegedly to wage a war against India, by exploiting the ongoing ethnic clashes in Manipur. Meanwhile, four others were arrested by the CBI. The central agency said they have arrested four accused in connection with the ongoing investigation of cases related to violence in Manipur.

“CBI had registered two said cases on August 23, 2023, on the request of the Manipur government and took over the investigation of these cases earlier registered by the Manipur police on the complaints of parents of minor victims at Imphal and Lamphel police stations. During the investigation of these cases, four persons have been arrested. The arrested accused will be produced before the competent court at Assam’s Guwahati, designated as per the orders of the Supreme Court,” the CBI stated in the press statement.   

“Two minor children, who accompanied the said arrested accused during transit from Manipur’s Imphal to Guwahati have been handed over to the district child protection officer, Kamrup Metropolitan district, for their welfare, protection and care,” the CBI statement added.  

A press release issued by the ITLF on Monday read, “Are some lives more precious than others because of their ethnicity? Is justice served when citizens are charged for “transnational” crimes to suit the narrative of the powers that be? The ITLF condemns in the strongest terms the selective haste of the Central investigation agencies, which arrested the tribal individuals, including two women, without the knowledge of the local authorities and also took away two children from their homes.”

The ITLF in the press release alleged that there were no women police officers and a juvenile police unit as required by law when the four tribal individuals were arrested.