Police said tension prevailed in Manipur's Churachandpur district after fresh protests broke out
Imphal:
One person was killed and 25 others injured in a clash with security forces after hundreds of people today descended on Manipur's Kuki-Zo tribal-dominated Churachandpur district to protest the suspension of a senior police officer after posting a selfie of him with “ armed miscreants” went viral.
According to the police, there are tensions in the neighborhood. Protesters were seen surrounding the office of the police chief and demanding the reinstatement of the chief constable, Siamlalpaul, who took the selfie in a bunker of “armed miscreants” and “village defense volunteers” on top of a hill.
The protesters set fire to a bus and other buildings outside the district police chief's office.
“A departmental inquiry is being considered against Siamlalpaul of Churachandpur District Police as a video of him shooting a video with armed men on February 14 has gone viral on social media,” said the suspension order issued by Churachandpur Superintendent of Police Shivanand Surve.
Manipur has been witnessing gun battles between rival armed groups – who call themselves 'village defense volunteers' – amid ethnic tensions between the hill-majority Kuki-Zo tribes and the valley-majority Meiteis.
Police posted on microblogging platform Several demonstrators were injured.
“A mob of about 300 to 400 people today tried to storm the office of the SP (Superintendent of Police) CCP (Churachandpur), pelting stones, etc. The SF (security forces), including the RAF, are responding appropriately by firing tear gas canisters to diffuse the situation. The cases are being monitored,” Manipur police said in the post on
A mob of about 300 to 400 people today tried to storm the office of the SP CCP, pelting stones, etc. The SF, including the RAF, responded appropriately by firing tear gas shells to keep the situation under control. to gain control. Things are being monitored.
— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) February 15, 2024
The protesters alleged that the senior police officer has been unfairly suspended and should be reinstated. Churachandpur, a district dominated by the Kuki-Zo tribes, was one of the areas worst affected by the ethnic clashes that began in May 2023.
The Kuki-Zo tribes have repeatedly alleged that state police were involved in attacks on their villages. Police have time and again refuted these allegations, pointing instead to the alleged involvement of Kuki-Zo insurgents in strengthening “village defense volunteers.”
The Kuki-Zo civil society group Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) said in a statement late on Thursday that the Churachandpur police chief “is fully responsible for tonight's incident in the district…”
ITLF's alleged videos have been doing the rounds on social media for the past few months, showing Manipur police personnel fighting alongside armed groups and attacking Kuki-Zo areas. “But no action has been taken against them,” the ITLF said.
Former Civil Society Group leader seeks FIR against Manipur police officer
The former leader of a civil society group has written to Manipur police to file a case against a senior officer for allegedly threatening to kill him.
H Thangtinlen Daniel Mate, former head of Tengnoupal unit Kuki Students Organization (KSO), alleged in the letter that Superintendent of Police (Combat) Colonel Nectar Sanjenbam (retired) called him at night and threatened to kill him.
“I received a call from Mr. Nectar's phone number… and since it was late at night, I didn't receive the call. After a few minutes, I received a life-threatening text message… The text said he knows me and that he was going to kill me,” Mate said in the letter to the officer in charge of the Tengnoupal police station on Thursday.
“…I have done nothing against this person or anyone else to deserve such a life-threatening warning,” he said.
No FIR has been filed yet.
Colonel Nectar had played a key role in India's surgical strikes in Myanmar in 2015. The Manipur government appointed him Senior Superintendent of Police (Combat) in August 2023 for a five-year term. The retired army officer served with the 21 Para (Special Forces). He was awarded the Kirti Chakra – the second highest award for peacetime gallantry – and the Shaurya Chakra, the third highest.
Ethnic violence in Manipur between the Kuki-Zo tribes and the Meiteis over disputes over land, resources, political representation and affirmative action policies has been going on for nine months now. More than 180 people have died and 50,000 have been internally displaced.
