Manipur Govt's Statement Against Security Forces Goes Against Its Own Police's Version: Report

A report in The Telegraph has highlighted the deepening mistrust between the Manipur state government and the central forces who have been deployed in the state to tackle the nearly four-month-long ethnic violence there.

The report notes an incident on September 8 of a gunfight between an armed group identified as comprising Meitei community members and the security forces in a Kuki-majority area.
A Meitei mob, informed of this fight, gathered at Pallel in Tengnoupal district with the view of travelling to the village to support the armed group, the report said.

This mob shot at security forces, who allegedly retaliated, sources told the paper. Three civilians were killed and several, including an army officer, were injured.

However, a day later, the Manipur government said in a press release that the Biren Singh cabinet had “condemned the unwanted actions of the central security forces” on civilians the previous day at Pallel and noted that it would apprise the Union government of the incident.

The report noted that the cabinet’s statement contradicts the state police’s own media statement on the incident, which said, “In a calibrated response in self-defence and to control the unruly mob, security forces used minimum force to disperse the mob that led to injuries to a few persons who were part of the mob out of which two reportedly died.”

Police noted that the firing had been against “armed miscreants who attempted to resort to arson and violence in the village.”

Sources told Telegraph that the police’s statement highlighted that cops were working closely with the security forces, calling it a “joint operation.”

“Yet, the Manipur government’s statement of condemnation mentioned only central security forces,” the report said.

The police are under the jurisdiction of the state home ministry, held by the chief minister.
The report contains details gleaned from sources who said that security personnel had resorted to firing “after exhausting all options to break up the huge crowd, including requests to them to disperse followed by a baton-charge, tear gas shelling, the firing of rubber bullets, and then the firing of bullets below the waist.”

Reports of growing division between the Manipur government and the security forces deployed to ensure calm in the state are also reflected in the fact that the Army wrote to the Editors Guild of India over local media supporting one community over the other, and worsening the strife in the state.

This letter, publicised a day ago, assumes significance as the Editors Guild is facing a first information report filed by the Manipur Police against it over a fact-finding report it released on the news environment in the state.

Source: The Wire