Assam Rifles Chased Away by Meira Paibis; Refutes Meiteis’ Allegations of Siding With Kukis

Taking advantage of the withdrawal of AFSPA in the Imphal valley areas, the Meiteis in general and Meira Paibis in particular have continuously blocked the Central Security Forces including Assam Rifles from performing their duty as a peace keeping force in the ongoing Manipur mayhem.

Vilifying the Assam Rifles, blocking their duties and creating inconveniences to the central security forces have become new norms in the “undisturbed” valley of Imphal under the leadership of N. Biren Singh.

One among the many instances is the Assa Rifles personnel being caught and chased away by the so-called women vigilante group of Meira Paibis in the paddy field of Heirok, a vidio which had gone viral on social media. It is a clear evidence of the central forces being mistreated by the Meiteis in their jeal for seccessionist movement. Forget about the minority Kuki-Zo community, even the central security personnel, particularly the Assam Rifles, are neither safe in the Meiteis dominated districts nor allowed to diligently perform their duties.

In another video which went viral on Wednesday evening, a Meitei mob and Meira Paibis blocked the patrolling party of Assam Rifles at Lamsang, Imphal West, who were heading towards Singda, Koutruk and Kadangband, the buffer zone areas between the warring parties. In the video, the Assam Rifles troops with bullet proof vehicles were seen blocked by the Meitei mob for reasons best known to them.

On the other hand, the Assam Rifles has refuted the Meiteis’ allegations of the para-military troops supporting Kuki volunteers in preparation of bunkers in Koutruk - Haraothel region of Kangpokpi district, a video of which had gone viral on social media platforms.

In a statement, the Assam Rifles clarified that the individuals shown in the video were troops of Assam Rifles who have been tasked to occupy posts to prevent any violence in the area.

The Assam Rifles said fortification of the post by placing sandbags being carried out had been circulated on social media with a false narrative of Assam Rifles assisting a community in preparation of bunkers. “The bunkers have been prepared for occupation by Assam Rifles only. The allegation that Assam Rifles troops are supporting Kuki volunteers is totally false,” it stated.

It is worth noting that the troops of Assam Rifles along with CRPF have been deployed at Lumdong Top from December 23 to create a buffer zone between the two warring communities of Koutruk village to ensure no incidents of violence occur.