Tag: Imphal Valley

  • Militants openly instigating mobs in strife-torn Manipur cause concern for security agencies

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI/IMPHAL: The worst fears for security agencies seem to have come true as militants have been seen moving around openly and instigating mobs in Imphal valley which have been on a rampaging spree after pictures of two missing teenagers surfaced on social media.

    According to officials, during attacks carried out at a police party Wednesday evening, armed men dressed in black uniforms were seen giving directions to the agitated youths to attack the police and many vehicles were then torched.

    The security agencies have been warning that militants belonging to the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and other banned groups have become part of the mobs and carrying out sneak attacks on security forces as well as giving directions to the agitators.

    Recently, the presence of insurgents was found within a mob that carried out an attack on security forces injuring a Lt Col of the army near Pallel in Tengnoupal.

    As reported by PTI on September 11, central security agencies had warned about the possibility of militants mingling with crowds during any protest to stoke tensions in restive Manipur.

    The burning down of a police vehicle saw the presence of armed militants directing the crowd.

    Besides this, miscreants in the crowd used iron pieces which were fired towards security personnel with the help of automated slingshots.

    Over a dozen police personnel including an officer of the rank of additional Superintendent of Police have been injured in these clashes that erupted in Imphal valley after surfacing of pictures of missing teenagers, who are suspected to have been killed during the ethnic clashes.

    The officials reiterated that the current unrest has seen the resurgence of near dormant banned groups like UNLF, PLA, Kanglei Yawol Kanba Lup (KYKL), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) in the state.

    The officials have also warned that the recent release of four youths, who were possessing deadly weapons looted from police armoury, was a dangerous sign and efforts should be intensified to nab and book them under relevant sections of law.

    They said at present, UNLF has a cadre strength of 330 followed by PLA with 300 and KYKL with 25 who are active within the groups of the majority community.

    On June 24, Army and Assam Rifles, based on specific intelligence, nabbed 12 members of KYKL in East Imphal including self-styled ‘lt colonel’ Moirangthem Tamba alias Uttam.

    Uttam was one of the masterminds of the ambush on the 6 Dogra regiment in 2015 that left 18 army soldiers dead.

    The officials said there was every likelihood that the arms and ammunition looted from the Manipur police armoury could have landed with these terror groups.

    Among the arms looted included .303 rifles, Medium Machine Guns (MMG) and AK assault rifles, carbines, Insas Light Machine Guns (LMG), Insas rifles, M-16 and MP5 rifles.

    The officials said around 4,537 arms and 6.32 lakh bullets were missing mainly from Manipur Police Training Centre (MTPC) at Pangei in East Imphal, 7th India Reserve Battalion and 8th Manipur Rifles, both located at Khabeisoi in Imphal city.

    According to them, out of the stolen weapons, 2,900 fell in the lethal category whereas others comprised teargas and mini flare guns.

    Repeated calls by politicians have yielded no results as none of the looted weapons have been deposited back except for those returned in the last week of July.

    There has been no forward movement on the disposal of dead bodies and opening of supply routes from Imphal to hill areas.

    More than 180 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

    A fresh bout of violence, this time led by students, broke out in the state capital on Tuesday after photos of the bodies of two youths who went missing in July went viral on social media.

    Violent protests continued till the early hours of Thursday with a mob vandalising the deputy commissioner’s office in Imphal West and torching two four-wheelers, officials said.

    On Wednesday night, the protesters clashed with security personnel in Uripok, Yaiskul, Sagolband and Tera areas, prompting the forces to fire several rounds of tear gas shells to control the situation, they said.

    NEW DELHI/IMPHAL: The worst fears for security agencies seem to have come true as militants have been seen moving around openly and instigating mobs in Imphal valley which have been on a rampaging spree after pictures of two missing teenagers surfaced on social media.

    According to officials, during attacks carried out at a police party Wednesday evening, armed men dressed in black uniforms were seen giving directions to the agitated youths to attack the police and many vehicles were then torched.

    The security agencies have been warning that militants belonging to the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and other banned groups have become part of the mobs and carrying out sneak attacks on security forces as well as giving directions to the agitators.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Recently, the presence of insurgents was found within a mob that carried out an attack on security forces injuring a Lt Col of the army near Pallel in Tengnoupal.

    As reported by PTI on September 11, central security agencies had warned about the possibility of militants mingling with crowds during any protest to stoke tensions in restive Manipur.

    The burning down of a police vehicle saw the presence of armed militants directing the crowd.

    Besides this, miscreants in the crowd used iron pieces which were fired towards security personnel with the help of automated slingshots.

    Over a dozen police personnel including an officer of the rank of additional Superintendent of Police have been injured in these clashes that erupted in Imphal valley after surfacing of pictures of missing teenagers, who are suspected to have been killed during the ethnic clashes.

    The officials reiterated that the current unrest has seen the resurgence of near dormant banned groups like UNLF, PLA, Kanglei Yawol Kanba Lup (KYKL), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) in the state.

    The officials have also warned that the recent release of four youths, who were possessing deadly weapons looted from police armoury, was a dangerous sign and efforts should be intensified to nab and book them under relevant sections of law.

    They said at present, UNLF has a cadre strength of 330 followed by PLA with 300 and KYKL with 25 who are active within the groups of the majority community.

    On June 24, Army and Assam Rifles, based on specific intelligence, nabbed 12 members of KYKL in East Imphal including self-styled ‘lt colonel’ Moirangthem Tamba alias Uttam.

    Uttam was one of the masterminds of the ambush on the 6 Dogra regiment in 2015 that left 18 army soldiers dead.

    The officials said there was every likelihood that the arms and ammunition looted from the Manipur police armoury could have landed with these terror groups.

    Among the arms looted included .303 rifles, Medium Machine Guns (MMG) and AK assault rifles, carbines, Insas Light Machine Guns (LMG), Insas rifles, M-16 and MP5 rifles.

    The officials said around 4,537 arms and 6.32 lakh bullets were missing mainly from Manipur Police Training Centre (MTPC) at Pangei in East Imphal, 7th India Reserve Battalion and 8th Manipur Rifles, both located at Khabeisoi in Imphal city.

    According to them, out of the stolen weapons, 2,900 fell in the lethal category whereas others comprised teargas and mini flare guns.

    Repeated calls by politicians have yielded no results as none of the looted weapons have been deposited back except for those returned in the last week of July.

    There has been no forward movement on the disposal of dead bodies and opening of supply routes from Imphal to hill areas.

    More than 180 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

    A fresh bout of violence, this time led by students, broke out in the state capital on Tuesday after photos of the bodies of two youths who went missing in July went viral on social media.

    Violent protests continued till the early hours of Thursday with a mob vandalising the deputy commissioner’s office in Imphal West and torching two four-wheelers, officials said.

    On Wednesday night, the protesters clashed with security personnel in Uripok, Yaiskul, Sagolband and Tera areas, prompting the forces to fire several rounds of tear gas shells to control the situation, they said.

  • BJP faces multi-cornered contest in phase one of Manipur polls

    Express News Service

    Imphal: The stakes are high for the ruling BJP as it faces a multi-cornered contest when 38 of Manipur’s 60 seats go to first of two-phase elections on Monday. Twenty-nine of the seats are spread across three Imphal Valley districts and the nine others lie in three hill districts. The BJP and the Congress had won 18 and 16 of these seats respectively in 2017.The elections will be fought against the backdrop of allegations by Congress and the National People’s Party (NPP) that the BJP used tribal militants to threaten the voters in some hill districts. The Congress had on Saturday petitioned the Election Commission demanding immediate action as the banned Kuki National Organisation, which is a conglomerate of militant groups, openly committed its support to the BJP.Over the past two months or so, there have been a series of poll-related violence. The father of NPP’s Andro candidate was fired upon by suspected militants. He escaped with injuries. The BJP clearly has an edge over others but it suffered a virtual split due to ticket-related issues. A number of its leaders, including MLAs, deserted the party after missing the poll bus. They are contesting the polls on the tickets of Congress, NPP and Janata Dal (United).The people on the streets of Imphal Valley say the BJP’s prospects dimmed as it deprived tickets to some deserving candidates. Some, with their eyes fixed on the chief minister’s chair, allegedly favoured their loyalists looking at the post-poll scenario when the support of the MLAs will be crucial in the selection of the CM face. The one who enjoys the support of more MLAs will stand to gain.The BJP is more visible compared to other parties but the general perception is that the polls will throw up a fractured mandate as in 2017. In that election, the BJP had won 21 seats compared to the then ruling Congress’ 28 but managed to cobble up the numbers and formed a coalition government. Now, the BJP and the NPP have fallen apart. In the event of a hung House, the BJP is expected to seek the support of ally Naga People’s Front and JD (U).As for the Congress, despite being hit hard by the defections of half of its MLAs, mostly to the BJP, over the past five years, the party’s 13-14 MLAs are likely to get re-elected. One party to watch out for this election will be the NPP. It is expected to give the BJP and the Congress a run for their money in a number of seats if the “threats” issued to some NPP candidates and workers by the militants are anything to go by.In 2017, the NPP had contested nine seats and won four. All four MLAs were inducted into the ministry for the party’s support of the BJP. Buoyed by that success, the NPP is contesting 39 seats this election.The JD (U) is also dreaming big after several BJP leaders, including some sitting and former MLAs, and retired bureaucrats joined its ranks. Unlike in the past, people are now talking about the party.The BJP is hoping to retain power by playing the development card. But unemployment and alleged corruption in the government are major poll issues. Then there are the issues of price rise, black marketing of urea, lack of infrastructure etc in the hill districts.Total seats: 60First phase seats: 38Voters-12,22,713Male voters-5,93,262Female voters-6,29,276Transgenders-175Candidates 173, including 15 womenBJP-38, Congress-35, JD(U)-28, NPP-27, Shiv Sena-7, RPI(A)-6, NCP-6, LJP-3, Kuki People’s Alliance-2, Kuki National Assembly-1, CPI-1 and Independents-18Prominent candidates: Chief Minister N Biren Singh (BJP), Speaker Yumnam Khemchand Singh (BJP), senior minister Thongam Biswajit Singh (BJP), former Congress chief Konthoujam Govindas (BJP), Deputy CM Yumnam Joykumar Singh (NPP), former minister Nemcha Kipgen (BJP), Congress president N Loken Singh, Sheikh Noorul Hassan (NPP)