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Assam Rifles booked by police for ‘obstructing’ operation
Manipur police have registered an FIR against Assam Rifles personnel for allegedly stopping them from doing their duties
Police have registered a first information report (FIR) against Assam Rifles personnel for allegedly stopping them from pursuing armed miscreants involved in the killing of three men in Kwakta in Bishnupur district on Saturday morning — a move that reflects the deep distrust even between the security forces of the state (one under the state government, and one under the Centre).
The army rejected the allegation against the Assam Rifles. “Some inimical elements have made desperate, repeated & failed attempts to question the role, intent and integrity of the Central Security Forces, especially Assam Rifles,...Indian Army and Assam Rifles assure the people of Manipur that we will continue to remain firm and resolute in our actions to prevent any attempt that could result in furthering violence...” the Spear Corps posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The FIR, a copy of which has been seen by HT, was filed on August 5, hours after a clip of the standoff between Manipur police and Assam Rifles personnel surfaced on social media and was widely circulated.
In the video, Manipur police officers are seen accusing Assam Rifles of interfering in their operation while chasing the armed miscreants. The Assam Rifles officer in the video is heard saying that he was only doing his duty. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
A team led by Bishnupur superintendent of police and other officers were proceeding towards Pholjang road along Kwakta to chase “Kuki militants,” who could have been involved in the three killings earlier that day, the FIR said. Police teams were conducting search operations after receiving reports that the militants were hiding in the areas between Kwakta and Pholjang village, it added
“On reaching the Kutub Wali Masjid located at Kwakta ward 8 along Pholjang road, the state police teams were stopped, and their way was blocked by the personnel of the 9 Assam Rifles by keeping and parking their Casper vehicle in middle of the Kwakta Pholjang road.... As such, the arrogant act of the personnel of 9th Assam Rifles gave a chance to the accused Kuki militants to escape freely to somewhere that is a free zone for them,” the FIR filed by the officer in- charge of Phougakchao Ikhai police station claimed.
The FIR has been filed under sections of obstructing a public servant from discharging duty, threat of injury to public servant, assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging duty, and criminal intimidation.
Three Meitei men were shot dead and their bodies mutilated in their house in Kwakta ward 8 of Bishnupur at around 3am on Saturday. The three men, who were residing at a government camp, had come to check their houses, which they had abandoned on May 3 as clashes between Kuki and Meitei communities broke out across the state.
Following the murder, Meitei groups began protesting against the Assam Rifles, demanding the removal of the force from Manipur.
Meira Paibis, a collective of Meitei women, have accused Assam Rifles of being biased in discharging their duty. The women have also accused them of using excessive force dealing with Meitei women protesters. The state’s Bharatiya Janata Party vice-president Chidananda Singh said a memorandum was submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking removal of Assam Rifles from the state.
On Monday, Assam Rifles personnel were replaced with civil police and Central Reserve Police Force at a check post in Moirang between Bishnupur and Kangvai, an order issued by Manipur police stated. The order issued by the additional director general of police, law and order, did not cite any reason for this.
Assam Rifles and other paramilitary forces continue to remain posted across the state to restore normalcy. At present, CRPF, Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Indo- Tibetan Border Police and Assam Rifles, along with the Indian Army, are posted in Manipur.
The forces are working under a unified interagency command to restore normalcy, headed by Kuldiep Singh, security advisor to the Manipur government.
Saturday’s incident was not the first time that police were engaged in a tense standoff with Assam Rifles. On June 2, a video of an altercation between the two surfaced on social media; the incident came about after an Assam Rifles vehicle blocked the road outside Sugnu police station.
At least 160 people have died so far in the ethnic clashes in the past three months. Clashes in Manipur first broke out on May 3 in Churachandpur town after Kuki groups protested against a proposed tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe status to the Meitei community. Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders.
