Manipur leader gets legal notice for remarks against Assam Rifles

A Shillong-based lawyer sent the notice to Republican Party of India (A) national secretary Maheshwar Thaonaojam for his alleged remarks accusing the force of siding with Kuki militants

Assam Rifles, which has been involved in restoring normalcy in ethnic violence-hit Manipur, has sent a legal notice to a Manipuri leader for his alleged remarks accusing the force of siding with Kuki militants during the clashes with Meiteis, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

Ethnic violence has since May 3 claimed over 150 lives in Manipur. (AFP)

A Shillong-based lawyer sent the notice on August 21 to Republican Party of India (A) national secretary Maheshwar Thaonaojam on behalf of Assam Rifles’s inspector general (south).

The Manipur Police have also filed a first information report (FIR) accusing the Assam Rifles of stopping them from pursuing militants.

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a collective of Imphal’s mostly Meitei civil society groups, has sought Assam Rifles’s removal from Manipur even as Kuki-Zo-Hmar lawmakers and tribal groups have requested the Union government against doing so saying the force was unbiased. Meitei women groups have held a series of protests against the force.

In the notice to Thaonaojam, Assam Rifles, which has also filed a sedition case against COCOMI for allegedly discouraging the return of weapons stolen from police armouries, said he made false and baseless allegations against the force at a meeting in Delhi titled “Condolence of Meitei Martyrs”.

It quoted him accusing the force of bias, helping militants, and involvement in the violence. The notice asked Thaonaojam to apologise in writing publicly or else face legal proceedings.

Thaonaojam said he received the notice and added he was only quoting villagers. “The villagers said they suspect Assam Rifles of helping the militants because Kuki militants are using sophisticated weapons. I also saw videos of Assam Rifles stopping Manipur Police personnel from pursuing militants during an operation. An FIR was filed against Assam Rifles.”

In the FIR, which came to light on August 8, the Manipur Police accused Assam Rifles of stopping them from pursuing militants across a buffer zone.

Assam Rifles maintained its troops were only following the buffer zone guidelines in place to restore normalcy.

The Kukis and other tribal groups live in hill districts while the Meiteis in the Imphal valley and plains. The central forces are posted in the buffer zones or areas adjoining the foothills to ensure that armed people from both the Kukis and Meitei sides do not cross them to launch attacks.

Central forces, including the Assam Rifles, have been directed against allowing even state police to cross the buffer zones without taking them along. The directive was issued against the backdrop of allegations of bias against the state police.

Thaonaojam referred to some viral videos of an Assam Rifles officer with a militant and said he was only raising questions as a concerned citizen. “I will file my reply to the notice.”

The army on August 8 said “inimical elements” have made desperate, repeated, and failed attempts to question the role, intent, and integrity of the central forces, especially Assam Rifles, working to save lives and restoration of peace. “...due to the complex nature of the situation on the ground in Manipur, occasional differences at tactical level do occur between various security forces. However, all such misunderstandings at the functional level are immediately addressed through the joint mechanism to synergize the efforts for restoration of peace and normalcy in Manipur,” it said in a statement.

Ethnic violence between the dominant Metei and Kuki communities has since May 3 claimed over 150 lives and displaced close to 50,000 people.