Manipur CM Visits Kangpokpi SoO Camp After Cobra Operation

Imphal, October 25: Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh of Manipur made a visit on Sunday to Sinai camp in Kangpokpi district, a site earmarked for militants under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) arrangement.

The CRPF took control of the camp after disarming it during a recent joint operation led by its Cobra unit along with Manipur Police and other security agencies. The operation was launched after three innocent wood collectors were killed in Nongshum, Imphal East district.

During the drive, personnel found only 17 individuals at the camp who had assumed the identities of registered SoO cadres. The camp had been planned to house roughly 150 cadres.

Sinai was the assigned camp for the Kuki National Army (KNA) and the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA), both parties to the SoO agreement. This was the first time a sitting Chief Minister had travelled to a camp designated under the SoO framework.

After reaching the site, Khemchand Singh examined the whole camp complex. He obtained details from CRPF and Assam Rifles officers about the operations in the area and the current law and order scenario.

In conversations with senior security officials and personnel, he lauded the bravery and valour of the CRPF Cobra Battalion. He emphasised that great care must be taken during search operations to prevent any damage to innocent civilians. He instructed the forces that they are deployed to protect the lives and property of the people.

He asserted that Manipur could neither move forward nor attain lasting peace as long as gun culture existed. He called on the people of the state to abandon violence, surrender illegal weapons and join hands to restore peace and goodwill in Manipur.

Subsequently, he engaged with civil society organisations and villagers from the region. The visit was attended by several senior officers, including CRPF (M&N) Sector IG Homkar Amol Vinukant, Manipur Police IG Kamei Angam Romanus, Manipur Police DIG N. Herojit Meitei, CRPF DIG Rajesh Kumar, Assam Rifles Colonel Radha Krishnan, the Kangpokpi Deputy Commissioner, and the SPs of Kangpokpi and Imphal East.