Manipur: Fresh Spate Of Violence Reported As Mob Attempts To Storm Churachandpur SP Office

Gunfights have broken out in Manipur between rival armed groups claiming to be "village defence volunteers" amid ethnic tensions between the hill-majority Kuki-Zo tribes and Meitei.

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Manipur Police reported on Thursday evening that a mob of 300 to 400 people attempted to storm the Churachandpur SP office. In response to the incident, the security forces including the Rapid Action Force are responding appropriately by firing tear gas shells to control the situation. 

Mob numbering approx 300-400 attempted to storm the office of SP CCP today, pelting stone, etc. The SF including RAF is responding appropriately by firing tear gas shell to control the situation. Things are being under watch.

— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) February 15, 2024

"This tantamount to very grave misconduct being a member of the disciplined police force," news agency PTI quoted a police statement.

"A departmental inquiry is being contemplated against Siamlalpaul of Churachandpur district police, as a clip has gone viral on social media showing him making a video with armed men on February 14," the notice said.

Siamlalpaul has been asked not to "leave the station without prior permission," and "his pay and allowances have been restricted to the subsistence allowance admissible under the rules," according to the statement.

Policeman Seen With Armed Men In Viral Video Suspended: 

A head constable with the Churachandpur district police in Manipur has been suspended after being allegedly seen with armed men in a video posted on social media recently, news agency PTI reported citing a police order.

"This amounts to very serious misconduct as a member of the disciplined police force," a police order issued on Thursday read.

Head constable Siamlalpaul of Churachandpur district police, who was recently seen in a social media video with armed men, has been placed "under suspension from his service with immediate effect until further orders," according to an order issued by the office of Churachandpur SP.

"A departmental inquiry is being contemplated against Siamlalpaul of Churachandpur district police, as a clip has gone viral on social media showing him making a video with armed men on February 14," the order said, as reported by PTI. 

Siamlalpaul has been asked not to "leave the station without prior permission," and "his pay and allowances have been restricted to the subsistence allowance admissible under the rules," according to the statement.

Protests Emerge Across Imphal Valley As Women Rally Against Escalating Gun Attacks: 

Earlier in the day, thousands of women, predominantly Meira Paibis (women torch bearers), took to the streets in the five districts of Imphal valley, Manipur, protesting against the frequent gun attacks by armed men targeting villages near the hills adjacent to the valleys.

Organised by the civil body People's Alliance for Peace and Progress Manipur, women in Singjamei, Kakwa, and Heingang in Imphal West district raised slogans to safeguard "the territorial and administrative integrity" of Manipur, condemning the gun attacks by armed men on villagers, according to news agency PTI.

The protesters also demanded the annulment of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement signed between the Kuki militants and the central government.

Gaitri S, a university student participating in the protest at Kongba in Imphal East district, told PTI, "We want the central government and its security agencies to investigate the continuous supply of ammunition to the militants, enabling them to persistently attack villages for the last nine months."

Similar human chain protests unfolded at Khurai Lamlong and Kongba in Imphal East district, Lilong in Thoubal district, and Moirang Lamkhai in Bishnupur district.

The protest comes amid renewed attacks in Imphal valley by suspected militants in Pukhao Shantipur in Imphal East district, Sugnu in Kakching district, and Kadangband in Imphal West district.

Renu Laishram, a protester advocating for the deportation of illegal immigrants present since 1961, expressed to PTI, "How can we remain at peace when the administrative unity and territorial integrity of the state are being threatened every single day? The state was built over the course of 2000 years by the indigenous people and its rulers. How can we tolerate if some illegal immigrants who came into the state not more than 50/40 years want to break it?"

Earlier this week, a 25-year-old village volunteer lost his life in a gunfight between two communities at Pukhao Shantipur in Imphal East district, while an army officer sustained gunshot injuries in a separate incident in the same district while attempting to control a situation.

On Wednesday, armed men attacked Sugnu village in Kakching district, leading to a gunfight with village volunteers stationed in the area.

Sugnu had witnessed severe violence last May, resulting in the burning of numerous houses and the loss of more than five lives, prompting hundreds of villagers to seek refuge in relief camps.