Manipur Violence: 5 Policemen Suspended Over May 4 Incident, IG Officer To Probe Armoury Looting

Manipur Police suspends 5 officers, including station commander, after two women were stripped and paraded by a mob in May.

More than 160 people have died and hundreds have been injured in ethnic clashes in Manipur since May 3. (Image used for representational purposes only.)

Source : PTI

Manipur Police has suspended five officers, including the station commander in charge of the area where two women were stripped and paraded by a mob on May 4, news agency PTI reported citing officials said on Sunday. According to the report, Manipur police decided to suspend the station in-charge of Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district and four other police personnel immediately after the video of the incident surfaced on July 19.

According to the report, the action was taken quickly and has not been reversed despite daily protests by some members of the majority community calling for their reinstatement.

The state police have also ordered a time-bound investigation led by an Inspector General of Police into the events leading up to the looting of an armoury in Bishnupur on August 3, it said.

Officials in the know told PTI that the Manipur Police were making every effort to end the cycle of violence in the state that began on May 3 between the majority Meitei and tribal Kuki communities. They claimed that the police had been working nonstop to ensure that the breakdown in law and order was addressed as soon as possible.

"Now, for example, with the assistance of other agencies such as the Army and the Assam Rifles, we have been able to keep essential supplies in surplus quantity," an official told the news agency. 

"This is a farming season, and we can't wait for complete peace to return. So we have to manage it, which means sending more police officers to the foothills, where the famous black rice is grown," said another official.

So far, around 300 people have been arrested in various cases. During the ethnic clashes, many zero FIRs were registered, and each claim must be cross-checked, the report said.

According to the report, a time-bound investigation has been launched into the recent looting of arms and approximately 19,000 bullets from the headquarters of the 2nd India Reserve Battalion (IRB) in Naranseina, Bishnupur district. The investigation will be completed in six weeks by an officer with the rank of Inspector General, it added further. 

On August 3, a crowd gathered there to march towards Churachandpur, where tribals planned to carry out a mass burial of their people killed in ethnic clashes that erupted in the state on May 3, it said.

The officials emphasised Manipur Police's "proactive" approach, stating that up to 30 people were arrested following an attack on an Inspector General rank officer outside the airport last month, as per the report. 

In connection with the brutal killing of a Naga Maring lady on July 15, nine people were arrested, including five Meira Paibis (women torch bearers). 

"In Manipur, a day without an incident is referred to as an 'absence of violence,' and it is not regarded as normal. There is still a long way to go before things can return to normal," an official was quoted as saying in the PTI report. 

More than 160 people have died and hundreds have been injured in ethnic clashes in Manipur since May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis make up about 53% of Manipur's population and live primarily in the Imphal Valley. Tribals (Nagas and Kukis) make up slightly more than 40% of the population and live in the hill districts.