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Rajiv Singh likely to be named Manipur Police’s operational commander
Union home ministry ordered his transfer to the ethnic violence-hit northeastern state by changing his cadre as a “special case in the public interest”
Rajiv Singh, a 1993 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, is likely to be appointed as Manipur Police’s operational commander after the Union home ministry ordered his transfer to the ethnic violence-hit northeastern state by changing his cadre as a “special case in the public interest” late on Monday.
Singh, who was posted as inspector general (operations) at the Central Reserve Police Force’s headquarters in New Delhi, joined IPS as a Tripura cadre officer. Singh is expected to take over as Manipur Police’s operational commander on Wednesday. This will be the latest in a series of changes to the force’s operational command.
Manipur Police chief P Doungel’s house and other properties were vandalised after the violence was triggered in the state on May 3. On May 4, Doungel’s junior Ashutosh Sinha, additional director general (intelligence), was appointed as the “overall operational commander” to bring normalcy to the state.
Sinha has been reporting to retired IPS officer Kuldiep Singh, who was appointed as the Manipur government’s security advisor on May 4.
A Manipur Police officer said Rajiv Singh is yet to join the force and that it was unclear if he will be the new head. “We were told that he is still in Delhi and may arrive in the state in a day or two,” said the officer, who did not want to be named.
Armouries at the Manipur Rifles headquarters, police stations, and headquarters of the Indian Reserve Battalion were ransacked as violence escalated in the state. The scale of the violence prompted the government to deploy the army and paramilitary forces to quell it.
On Monday, Union home minister Amit Shah arrived in Manipur amid sporadic incidents of violence. He has held a series of meetings to defuse tensions and was likely to visit Churachandpur days after ethnic violence broke out there before spreading to other parts of the state.
Shah’s visit is the Union government’s highest-level intervention since the violence broke out. Army chief General Manoj Pande earlier on Saturday arrived in the state.
At least 80 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in the state. Tensions have simmered since the Manipur high court on April 27 directed that the Meities, Manipur’s dominant community accounting for 53% of its population, be included on the Scheduled Tribes list. Mostly tribal Kukis took to the streets against the directions beginning May 3.
Thousands of security personnel have been patrolling the streets of major cities and remote villages. Curfew has been clamped in swathes of the state and the internet has been suspended for over three weeks now.
