Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

The Manipur Police have strongly reacted to what they called “immature” comments by the former Assam Rifles chief, who indicated the state force could be partisan amid the ethnic tension between the valley-dominant Meitei community and the Kuki tribes, who are dominant in southern Manipur’s hill districts and some other areas.

Senior officers of the Manipur Police in a press conference on Tuesday said the comments on the police by the former Assam Rifles (AR) chief also showed “a myopic mindset”.

The Manipur Police and the AR have exchanged indirect barbs, and their personnel have had heated exchanges over matters such as road blockades since ethnic clashes began in May 2023, but never in the manner of a formal press conference or a news interview.

Lieutenant General PC Nair (retired), the former Director General of the AR, in a nearly 50-minute interview to News9 on Monday touched on a wide range of issues endemic in the state bordering Myanmar. One of the points he highlighted was the difficulty in operating at a place where he claimed the police, too, were sharply divided on ethnic lines.

While Lt General Nair acknowledged that the AR had a lot of successes during anti-insurgency operations due to the police’s support, he said the police are this time divided on ethnic lines – between Meiteis and Kukis.

“… Let me be very honest in saying that there is no Manipur Police. It is ‘Meitei Police’. It is ‘Kuki Police’. That’s how they went into their respective areas and that is how they have been since then,” Lt General Nair told News9. “If they didn’t go, you don’t know what would have happened to their families. So it was in their own interest. I wouldn’t blame them. The situation was so volatile that they had no option, but to go back to their areas where they belonged,” he said.

The former AR chief added the divide is “more or less complete” in the police, particularly the constabulary, which was “one of the problems.”

“See, in any internal security situation, if you don’t have the local police by your side, it’s very difficult. You try and think of such a situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Surely, the successes the army and the Rashtriya Rifles have been getting are largely due to having the police by their side, which was not the case here [in Manipur],” Lt General Nair said.

READ | “Agenda-Driven Narratives”: Top Assam Rifles Officer On “Bias” Allegations In Manipur Ops

Responding to Lt General Nair, the Inspector General of Police (Operations) IK Muivah said the state force “strongly refutes” several points, particularly the ‘Meitei Police’ reference, made by the former AR chief.

“Manipur Police comprises people from all communities, whether from the mainland, Nagas, Kukis, Meiteis. So there is no such thing as the statement which he made. It is an immature statement, which shows a myopic mindset. We want to refute that,” Mr Muivah told reporters in the state capital Imphal.

“We don’t take such comments lightly. This is why we called this press conference in the first place. We are disappointed with him over his biased, immature comments. They are not true. Saying ‘Meitei Police’, ‘Kuki Police’ is a very harmful, false statement. We completely refute this immature and false statement,” Mr Muivah said.

Inspector General of Police (Administration) K Jayanta Singh said Lt General Nair’s comment is not likely the opinion of the Assam Rifles as a whole. “The immature comment coming from an experienced, retired officer seems to be his opinion. It doesn’t look like the official view of the Assam Rifles,” Mr Singh told reporters.

On the huge controversy over attacks by weaponized drones, Lt General Nair denied any drone dropped bombs in Manipur, though both Kuki and Meitei groups use drones for reconnaissance. He also rubbished the claim that rockets have been fired in Manipur. A senior citizen from the Meitei community was killed in what the police and residents said was a “rocket attack” on the lakeside town Moirang, 45 km from Imphal. A shrapnel had pierced through his head, the police said.

Mr Keishing, citing evidence which the police have collected from the areas where they claimed drone bombings have happened, refuted the former AR chief’s statement that no drone dropped bombs. The Manipur Police officer said they have been collecting evidence, and have picked up drones that were downed, debris and bomb residue.

“We have also collected other evidence for the forensics teams. We will most likely hand over this very important case to the National Investigation Agency so that it can be probed at the highest level,” Mr Keishing said, referring to the country’s top anti-terror investigator NIA.

WATCH | Video: Standoff Between Armoured Vehicle And Suspected Insurgents In Manipur’s Moreh

Lt General Nair, explaining the situation in neighbouring Myanmar where anti-junta insurgents have been using swarm drones to bomb military camps, pointed out the projectile that hit Moirang can only be a homemade weapon known as ‘pumpi gun’.

“Again, it’s not a rocket or a missile. It is a very crude kind of a weapon, called pumpi. It is just a barrel in which they put some ammunition and it is fired. But do you know most of the times the ammunition gets blasted in the barrel itself… The media plays it up as if it’s something very alarming… they’re not rockets, they’re not designed. Narratives are being built by many people,” Lt General Nair said.

The AR is under the administrative control of the Home Ministry and operational control of the army. It guards the 1,600-km-long Indo-Myanmar border, of which nearly 400 km is in Manipur, where it also functions as the primary counter-insurgency force making its task a dual-role one. There are some Border Security Force (BSF) battalions in Manipur, but they are not specifically tasked with guarding the Indo-Myanmar border.

Since May 2023, when ethnic clashes began in Manipur, the Assam Rifles have been criticised by both the Meitei community and the Kuki tribes for allegedly being biased, Lt General Nair said, adding this clearly shows the force has been neutral.

The army had invited a team of the Editors Guild of India (EGI) to Manipur to analyse the local media’s coverage of the Manipur crisis, which was seen as partisan and biased towards the Meiteis. The editors’ body led by journalist Seema Mustafa had revealed this to the Supreme Court in September last year, after two Manipur residents filed police cases against the EGI for allegedly doing a hit job on the Meitei community, largely using information provided by groups of the Kuki tribes. The Supreme Court later gave relief to the EGI.

READ | Two Assam Rifles Battalions From Manipur To Be Deployed In Jammu And Kashmir

Another controversy erupted when the investigative news website The Reporters Collective (TRC) shared with the public its assessment of what it claimed was a PowerPoint presentation by AR officers in Manipur. The report, published in Al Jazeera on April 15, put a part of the blame for the Manipur crisis on Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s “political authoritarianism and ambition”. The AR later told Al Jazeera the content of the report was not the official viewpoint of the force, and that no such presentation had been made by the AR.

The All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU), a registered body formed in 1974, in a statement today refuted Lt General Nair’s comments that the local media was partisan. “When speaking to national media, we wish the [Lt] General also spoke to locals for their inputs including the media and not rely only on one side,” it said.

The AMWJU also said the former AR chief’s statement that weaponized drones were not used were “not borne by facts”. “… There are many eyewitnesses who saw the release of the bombs by drones, including a journalist of Impact TV who was also injured by shrapnel on his hand and foot in Koutruk,” the AMJU said, referring to the incident on September 8.

READ | Manipur Oil Leak Accident Or Sabotage? Some Unanswered Questions

Two battalions of the Assam Rifles have been shifted out of Manipur for deployment in Jammu and Kashmir. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been moved to the areas where these two battalions had guarded, including the Kuki-dominant Churachandpur. The Kuki tribes have fiercely protested against the move, and highlighted their preference for the AR, amid a huge trust-deficit with the government led by Biren Singh, who belongs to the Meitei community.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis – a term given by the British in colonial times – who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.

New Delhi:

A day after personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) thwarted an attack by armed gunmen on their camp in Manipur’s Kangpokpi, a senior CRPF officer said there was “rapid and random” firing on the roof of the camp and a befitting reply was given to the attackers.

CRPF Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Manish Kumar Sachar said the attack was a surprise for them, but those involved in the attack were pushed back and the situation was taken under control.

“There is an abandoned village about three km from here, and a counted few people stayed there. Suddenly, they (armed gunmen) came (from the northern side) and this was a surprise for us. There were random and rapid fire on the roof of the company and our boys responded swiftly and forced them to go back,” Mr Sachar said.

“While running back, these people burnt two houses in the periphery of the village. They also used bombs. Our boys showed tremendous alertness and forced them to go back. The situation is fully in our control… They (survivors) are very safe with us,” he said.

#WATCH | Kangpokpi, Manipur | On CRPF camp attacked in Kangpokpi Hill areas, DIG CRPF, Manish Kumar Sachar says, “There is an abandoned village nearby…Some people randomly came to the terrace of the company and started rapid firing, it was a surprise for us. But the boys (CRPF… pic.twitter.com/AILtFbbjPz

— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2024

He said the incident happened at 7.30 pm and it was “a planned attack”.

Mr Sachar said the CRPF “is all committed to solving the issue of Manipur and bringing peace”. “We promise that we will stand by our commitment,” he added.

Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

The Manipur Police said they have identified the bodies of five people found in Jiribam district following a fierce gunfight with “suspected Kuki insurgents” on Friday.

Three of the bodies have now been confirmed as Kuki insurgents from Churachandpur district; the fourth has been identified as a Kuki volunteer from Jiribam; the fifth has been identified as a member of the Meitei insurgent group United National Liberation Front (Pambei), or UNLF(P), the police said in a statement on Sunday.

The three Kuki insurgents were members of the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA), the police said, adding they suspect the three Kuki insurgents may have come from the hill district Churachandpur in southern Manipur, 230 km from Jiribam.

“… It seems they had traversed a long distance to Jiribam to execute these subversive activities,” the police said.

The UNLF is the oldest Meitei insurgent group, which later broke up into two factions; the Pambei faction signed a tripartite peace agreement with the Centre and the state government in November 2023.

The KLA has two factions, one each with the two umbrella Kuki-Zo groups that have signed the controversial tripatriate Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the state government and the Centre. Some 24-odd Kuki-Zo insurgent groups come under the two umbrella organisations called the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People’s Front (UPF). Sources said the leaders of the KLA factions are from the Khongsai clan.

The police said the three Kuki insurgents and the volunteer “initiated the attack” in Jiribam, killing a 63-year-old man from the Meitei community identified as Yurembam Kulendra Singha. His body was found on a bed, indicating he was shot while sleeping, his family told reporters on Saturday.

A police team that rushed to the site of the attack was fired at; the team retaliated and took control of the situation, the police said.

“A total of five bodies were found at the firing incident site…” the police said in the statement posted on X.

According to the police, the three KLA insurgents were Seiminlen Khongsai, Haogoulen Doungel, and Nehboithang Haokip. The volunteer who was killed was Lhunkhohao Haokip.

The UNLF(P) member was Baspatimayum Lakhi Kumar Sharma. He was guarding a village as a volunteer when he came under attack, his wife, holding her six-month-old baby, told local media.

In c/w the case of 06.09.2024, suspected Kuki militants had attacked Nungchappi village under Jiribam District resulting in death of 01 (one) senior citizen civilian identified as Yurembam Kulendra Singha (63) yrs S/O. (L) Y. Ramohon Singha of Rangar Part-I, Cachar, Assam, who…

— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) September 8, 2024

Jiribam is where Meitei and Hmar leaders met for peace talks last month, along with security forces commanders. They had given a joint statement agreeing to work for peace. Churachandpur-based Kuki groups, however, had objected to the peace talks, alleging the peace talk parties did not represent their interests and met only at Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s bidding.

The Hmar Inpui later declared it would not recognise the peace initiative and warned the individuals who participated in the meeting to “stop their blind and selfish efforts”. The Hmar Inpui had said these leaders appeared to be bowing to the “whims and fancies of a divisive and communal government under the leadership of Biren Singh…”

After violence erupted in Jiribam in June, sources had told NDTV the state government had written three times in December 2023 and January this year to the Director General of Police (DGP) asking to step up security and respond to any threat in the district bordering Assam.

“It has been reported that about 200 armed Kuki-Zo militants have moved from Churachandpur and reached Phaitol village, Old and New Kaiphundai area of Tamenglong district bordering Jiribam district,” the state government wrote to the DGP on January 15.

Sources had said though the Jiribam attacks in June came nearly six months after the government sent the first letter, the insurgents would have been waiting for the “right time” to strike.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis – a term given by the British in colonial times – who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.

New Delhi:

Security forces today gave a demonstration of an anti-drone system at work in violence-hit Manipur, days after a man was killed in weaponised drone attacks launched by suspected Kuki insurgents from the hills near the valley district Imphal West.

Sunday’s attacks, which the Manipur Police said were carried out by suspected Kuki insurgents, were the first recorded use of weaponised drones to drop bombs on civilians by suspected insurgents in India.

In a post on X, the Manipur Police said the Assam Rifles has deployed a few anti-drone systems in the fringe areas “to repel any rogue drones”.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), too, has tested an anti-drone system. The central force will bring more such systems soon, the police said.

The state police has also started the process of acquiring anti-drone systems to tackle aerial threats.

“AR [Assam Rifles] has deployed a few anti-drone systems in the state at fringe areas to repel any rogue drones. CRPF has also tested one anti-drone system and given it to the force deployed in the state. Some more anti-drone guns are being brought to the state by CRPF shortly,” the police said.

“The state police has also started the process for procurement of an anti-drone system to enhance its security measures and tackle threats from drones effectively,” the police said.

AR has deployed a few anti-drone systems in the State at fringe areas to repel any rogue drones. CRPF has also tested one anti-drone system and given it to the force deployed in the State. Some more anti-drone guns are being brought to the State by CRPF shortly.
The State Police… pic.twitter.com/UuWe1F5GpB

— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) September 7, 2024

The Manipur Chief Minister’s office had on two occasions raised concerns over the likelihood of weaponised drone attacks in the state, two letters sent by the Chief Minister’s secretaries to the police chief and security agencies in the last seven months show.

The Manipur Police chief Rajiv Singh had visited Imphal West district’s Kadangband and Koutruk on Sunday and Monday. He has been overseeing large-scale combing operations in the foothills. He spoke with villagers and assured them of security.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills near the Meitei-dominated Imphal West area. The Kuki tribes and the Meiteis have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.

Imphal:

Amid the sound of gunfire and explosions that reverberated in the valley in Manipur, Ngangbam Surbala Devi lived a happy life centred around the love for and well-being of her family. The 31-year-old was more than just a homemaker; she was the glue that held her family together, managing their home with grace and determination, supplementing their modest earnings, and ensuring her children received the education they deserved, her relatives said.

On September 1, the unrelenting ethnic violence shattered her world, ending her life in the place she had once called home.

Surbala Devi’s killing is not just another tale of loss; it is a heartbreaking reminder of the innocent lives torn apart by senseless conflict. Her death has left behind a grieving husband and two young children.

At her home in the quiet, green village of Phayeng, Surbala Devi was the heartbeat of her family, balancing multiple roles with an unwavering commitment, her relatives said.

Her husband, Ngangbam Ingo, served as a village guard, a role that often kept him away from home amid the ethnic violence. In his absence, Surbala Devi raised their two children – Mahesh, 14, and Rosia, 8.

She ran a small piggery and a local rice liquor brewery to support her family. Despite her small income, her tireless efforts were enough to keep her family afloat during the Manipur crisis, her relatives said.

August 31 was a special day for Surbala Devi. She eagerly prepared to visit her son Mahesh at Kangleipak Modern School in Lairenkabi, where he boarded. His mid-term results were out, and she was anxious to see how he had done.

Knowing how much he loved chicken curry, she planned to surprise him with his favourite dish. She called her husband Ingo the night before, asking him to prepare the meal for their son. The next morning, Surbala Devi set off on her two-wheeler to pick up her husband. They shared a simple lunch together – a rare moment of family time – before she dropped him back and continued to the school with Rosia and a nephew.

“Mother came at 11 am and asked about my results,” Mahesh said, his voice tinged with sadness. “I told her I got sixth rank. She said it was okay, but encouraged me to try harder for the final exam.”

They enjoyed the chicken curry and other treats she had brought, savouring these precious moments together. Soon, Rosia and their cousin began insisting they visit their grandmother’s house in Koutruk.

Giving in to their pleas, Surbala Devi decided to take them there, promising Mahesh she would see him again soon. Little did he know these would be his last moments with his mother.

Later that day, Mahesh was taken back home in Phayeng, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that had happened. As he approached the house, he was startled to see a crowd of people in white dress gathered in the courtyard.

A sense of dread filled him as he hurried inside, looking for his mother. It was only then that he learned the devastating news – his mother had been shot in the head and killed during an attack in Koutruk. The police later said it was an attack by suspected Kuki insurgents.

Koutruk, located at the foothills where the hills of Kangpokpi begin, had always been a vulnerable target in the ongoing ethnic violence between Kuki insurgents and the Meitei community.

On September 1, after Surbala Devi arrived at her maternal home with her children, the village was suddenly attacked. Suspected Chin-Kuki militants, escalating their aggression, used military-grade drones to drop bombs, coupled with indiscriminate gunfire.

Ingo received a call from Surbala, her voice filled with fear.

“We’re in Koutruk, and there’s firing from the mountains. They’re even using drones to drop bombs. I’ve taken the kids, and we’re ducking for cover,” she told him.

Ingo, 8 km away, could only urge her to stay safe. These would be the last words he ever exchanged with his wife. Moments later, a bullet pierced the earthen wall of the verandah where Surbala Devi and Rosia were taking cover. The bullet struck Rosia in the arm before fatally wounding Surbala Devi in the head.

The news broke Ingo’s heart. Consumed by grief, he could barely find the words.

“Why did this happen to my wife? She was the kindest, most hard-working person. She single-handedly took care of our family. How will I live without her? How will I raise our children?” he said, and broke down.

Romen Leishangthem, secretary of the Koutruk Youth Club, recounted the attack.

“The militants started firing around 2 pm, catching us off guard. It was a new kind of warfare. They used drones to drop bombs with terrifying precision. Surbala and her daughter were lying on the verandah, trying to stay safe. The bullet that hit Rosia’s arm passed through and struck Surbala, taking her life.”

Surbala Devi’s death adds a number to the casualties list of the unending ethnic violence that has ravaged Manipur, claiming over 230 lives, leaving many missing, and countless more injured, traumatised and displaced.

Homes and places of worship on both sides have been reduced to ashes. Despite recent efforts to restore peace, the escalation of violence with advanced weaponry signals a disturbing trend, suggesting that the road to reconciliation and normalcy is still fraught with danger.

As Manipur continues to grapple with its deep-seated ethnic strife, the memory of Surbala Devi stands as a sad example of the senseless loss of innocent lives. A devoted wife, a loving mother, and a pillar of her family, Surbala Devi’s legacy lives on in the hearts of those she touched, a silent plea for peace amidst the chaos, reminding of the unbearable cost of conflict.

Inputs by Sunzu Bachaspatimayum

Imphal/New Delhi:

Six people were killed in fresh violence this morning in Manipur’s Jiribam district, the police said. Suspected Kuki insurgents attacked Nungchappi village in the district 229 km from the state capital Imphal, killing a 63-year-old man identified as Yurembam Kulendra Singha. The attack came a day after an elderly man from the valley-dominant Meitei community, who was offering prayers, was killed in a rocket-propelled bomb attack by Kuki insurgents in Manipur’s Moirang town, according to the police.

The five others were killed in a gunfight between armed groups of the Meitei community and the hill-dominant Kuki tribes, sources said. These groups call themselves “village defence volunteers”.

The Jiribam Superintendent of Police (SP) and a police team rushed to the area, but were fired at, the police said in the statement, adding the team “retaliated strongly and controlled the firing.”

In Imphal, the Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) K Kabib today told reporters, “… Yesterday, some Kuki militants attacked and fired at some fringe areas including Bishnupur and Churachandpur border. In response to that, combined teams of the security forces conducted combing operations. They have destroyed two bunkers which was previously occupied by militants. After that, there was a long-range rocket fire from the hills by Kuki militants at Moirang, in which one senior citizen was killed and six others were injured.”

“Today morning, the Kuki militants attacked a village in Jiribam, killing a senior citizen. The militants kept firing and ran away. Some village volunteers retaliated, and when the Jiribam police reached the area, they were fired at, after which the police also fired back,” Mr Kabib said.

Jiribam is where Meitei and Hmar leaders met for peace talks last month, along with security forces commanders. They had given a joint statement agreeing to work for peace. Churachandpur-based Kuki groups, however, had objected to the peace talks, alleging the peace talk parties did not represent their interests and met only at Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s bidding.

The Hmar Inpui, however, declared it would not recognise the peace initiative and warned the individuals who participated in the meeting to “stop their blind and selfish efforts”. The Hmar Inpui had said these leaders appeared to be bowing to the “whims and fancies of a divisive and communal government under the leadership of Biren Singh…”

Anti-Drone System, Chopper Patrol

An anti-drone system has been deployed, the police said, nearly a week after suspected Kuki insurgents attacked villages in Imphal West district with weaponised drones – the first time suspected insurgents used drone attacks on Indian soil.

The police said that in a multi-pronged approach, army helicopters are keeping an eye on the ground, while combing operations in “suspected areas” in both the hills and the valley are going on. A team is also monitoring social media posts to catch instigators of violence, the police said.

The security forces have destroyed several bunkers in the foothills, the police said.

On Friday evening, crowds tried to loot weapons from the 2nd and 7th Manipur Rifles camps in the state capital Imphal, but they were prevented from doing so by the security forces, who fired blank rounds and tear gas, the police said. Two policemen were injured in firing by some people from the crowd, the police said. The two injured personnel have been identified as inspector Kh Henery, and constable Issac Gangmei. Both are in hospital.

Protesters in Imphal valley told reporters they were disappointed with the state and the central government over the drone and rocket attacks, and civilians were left with no choice but to defend themselves.

“Who in their right mind would want to loot weapons? People are being killed in their homes, despite the presence of over 50,000 central force personnel. A Meitei woman was shot by a sniper. An elderly man was killed in a rocket attack,” Imphal resident M Nirmala Devi, who came out to protest on Friday evening, told NDTV.

Imphal/New Delhi:

An MLA of the ruling BJP in ethnic violence-hit Manipur has called for banning a Kuki group that has been spearheading the call for a separate administration carved out of Manipur. The MLA, Rajkumar Imo Singh, who is also the son-in-law of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, appealed to the Home Ministry to ban the Kuki group Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) alleging the group has been taking financial aid to buy lethal drones, bombs and ammunition.

The MLA, who belongs to the valley-dominant Meitei community, in a post on X uploaded purported photos of a person with an identity card under the name ‘Haopu Vaiphei’ and the words ‘ITLF Drone Squad’.

“… Who is this person with ITLF ID and who all are training these people to attack innocent civilians?” Imo Singh said.

He also posted a purported ITLF-issued receipt that claimed the Bnei Menashe community sent Rs 3.9 lakh “financial assistance to the ITLF defence department”. The Bnei Menashe refers to some Kuki and Mizo people who claim descent from one of the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel.

Imo Singh made the allegations after two civilians were killed and nine were injured in firing and drone attacks by suspected Kuki insurgents in Manipur on Sunday.

It was the first recorded use of drones to drop bombs on civilians by suspected insurgents in India.

On Monday, another drone dropped two bombs in Imphal West district’s Senjam Chirang, leaving three injured, the police said. The bombs tore through the roof of a house, visuals taken by the police show.

“As a legislator of the state of Manipur, I seek for the organisation namely ITLF to be declared as a banned organisation. If these pictures are all true, if they are taking financial assistance to procure lethal drones, other arms and ammunition including bombs to attack innocent people, they have to be banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,” Imo Singh said.

“As I said earlier, it’s not just an ethnic conflict; it is an act of terror, an act of waging war against our country, the state of Manipur, its people, who are the citizens of our country,” he added.

As a Legislator of the State of Manipur, I seek for the organisation namely ITLF to be declared as a banned organisation. If these pictures are all true, if they are taking financial assistance to procure lethal drones, other arms and ammunition including bombs to attack innocent… pic.twitter.com/qD86u7U26O

— Rajkumar Imo Singh (@imosingh) September 3, 2024

NDTV could not independently verify the visuals posted by Imo Singh.

No Credible Evidence: Kuki Groups

The ITLF and other key Kuki groups in separate statements called the allegations of Kuki-Zo tribes using weaponised drones to attack the Meiteis totally unfounded. The Kuki groups said the entire incident was meant to divert attention from the audio tape leak controversy linked to the Chief Minister.

In the purported audio tapes, which have been submitted to a probe panel under the Home Ministry, the Chief Minister allegedly admitted he started the Manipur ethnic conflict. Those who gave the tapes to the probe panel reportedly gave affidavits stating the material was genuine, and sought protection.

The Biren Singh government has called the audio tapes “doctored”, and meant to derail peace talks.

“Drones are readily available in the market; obtaining them does not require involvement from outside the country. Licypriya Kangujam, a Meitei climate activist, publicly stated on social media that she has procured drones equipped with bomb-dropping capabilities from the US to bomb the Kuki-Zo inhabited areas…” the ITLF said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) said the state Home Department’s statement on Sunday saying the drone attacks were launched “reportedly by Kuki militants” were totally unfounded, lacking any credible evidence.

“It is beyond doubt that the irresponsible statement from the Home Department was intended to create confusion among the masses and the media, and to create a misleading narrative that distorts the facts and unfairly maligns the Kuki community,” the KIM said in a statement.

The Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO) and the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) also condemned what they called false allegations by the Biren Singh government and its police on the drone attacks. The KSO alleged Meiteis have been using drones to attack the Kuki tribes since December 2023. “… But nobody pays heed until an allegation of the same was levied by Meiteis in the recent incident…” the KSO said.

Police Chief Visits Affected Areas

The Manipur Director General of Police Rajiv Singh on Tuesday visited the villages in Imphal West district where the drone attacks were reported. The police chief is overseeing large-scale combing operations in the foothills. He spoke with villagers and assured them of security.

“This (drone attack) is a new thing. We are in touch with experts, including the National Security Guards (NSG). We have formed a multi-agency committee to make a plan on countering the drone threat. The experts are coming to Manipur,” the DGP said.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills near the Meitei-dominated valley district Imphal West. The Kuki tribes and the Meiteis have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.

Imphal:

For a second time, Thangjam Basant, 34, had to flee his village, Koutruk, in Manipur’s Imphal West district bordering the Kuki tribes-dominated Kangpokpi district.

“I was attending to my younger brother, who was injured by bomb shrapnel. When I returned home, it was all burnt down,” Mr Basant, who is from the valley-dominant Meitei community, told NDTV, and broke down.

In a fresh flare-up of violence yesterday at the inter-district boundary, two people were killed and 10 including a minor, policemen and a reporter were injured in firing and bomb attacks by drones launched by “suspected Kuki insurgents”. The attack on Koutruk came after relative calm for several months.

When NDTV went to Koutruk on Monday, it became clear that many people who fled from their homes when ethnic clashes broke out in May 2023 and had returned recently, had to again run for their lives. This has raised questions about the security of villages in the foothills.

One of the people who was killed on Sunday was a woman who was visiting her mother’s house. Her 12-year-old daughter was hit in the hand.

“I went to my house in the morning and found the mat they used. It had blood stains and patches of her hair. My sister-in-law had visited us after a long time,” said Thokchom Anu, the sister-in-law of Ngangbam Surbala, 31, who was shot in the head by suspected Kuki insurgents, told NDTV on Monday.

Top intelligence sources had told NDTV on Sunday that snipers and drones were used in the attack yesterday.

Bashant, Anu and many others who have fled from Koutruk have taken shelter at a primary school a few kilometres away. Some 150 people from the village are at the school. They had also left their homes in May 2023, and then returned when the situation seemed to have improved. They were just settling down when they were forced to flee again.

By Monday morning, security forces swarmed Koutruk. Many houses and vehicles were still smouldering after they were set on fire the previous night, allegedly by the Kuki insurgents. The area seemed like it was hit by an airstrike.

Residents of the village have questioned the role of the central forces who are guarding areas in the foothills such as Koutruk, which is right across the hills where the Kuki tribes are settled.

“The drones suddenly came and dropped the bombs. This was new for us. We were not prepared for it. When the firing began, CRPF came in their vehicles, while the Assam Rifles is up there in the hills. They should have controlled this situation,” Koutruk resident Romen Laishanghthem told NDTV.

The area was volatile on Monday too. Intermittent firing and explosions could be heard at a distance.

On Saturday, the Kuki tribes had held rallies to press for their demand of a separate administration. The tribes have been alleging Meitei armed groups have been carrying out attacks against them.

“The violence in Manipur will continue to escalate till the time there is no permanent political solution or Biren Singh remains the Chief Minister,” said Janghaolun, a spokesperson of Manipur’s Kuki Inpi.

Security forces also conducted joint combing operations in Kangpokpi and Imphal West district.

BJP MLA RK Imo Singh in a letter to Union Home minister Amit Shah questioned the role of central forces if they were unable to bring peace. He asked the Home Ministry to withdraw central forces from the state if their presence fails to stop violence.

In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mr Singh said if central forces fail to deliver results, the state security personnel should be allowed to take charge in an effort to restore peace in the ethnic violence-hit state.

Imphal/New Delhi:

A woman was killed, and her 12-year-old daughter was injured in firing by suspected insurgents in Manipur today, sources said. Two policemen were also injured; both are out of danger, sources said. One of the policemen was hit in the leg by a shrapnel from a bomb dropped by a drone, police sources said, adding at least two weaponised drones were seen. Other security forces are yet to confirm the sighting of the “weaponised drones”.

The firing started from Nakhujang village in Kangpokpi towards Kadangband in Imphal West at 2.35 pm, sources said. 

Residents in Kadangband said at least one drone dropped a “bomb” on a house in the area. They have shared purported visuals of the drone dropping a bomb, while people ran for cover. Sources in the security forces, however, said they are yet to look into this claim.

Some people guarding their houses in Kadangband retaliated, sources said.

The woman, identified as Ngangbam Surbala, 31, was brought dead at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in the state capital Imphal, 45 km from Kangpokpi.

Kangpokpi is a Kuki-dominated area, while Imphal West is in the Meitei-dominated valley. The Kuki tribes and the Meitei community have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues.

While members of the Meitei community claimed “Kuki terrorists” killed the woman, social media users from the Kuki tribes alleged the Meiteis began firing at Kuki villages in Kangpokpi first.

Both sides have shared purported visuals of the firing from different angles. What’s a first – if confirmed by the security forces – would be the use of the weaponised drones in Manipur.

The drones may have been used as spotters and to direct fire, while the crude artillery “pumpi guns” fired the shells which landed right near where the drones were flying, sources said, adding this may have given an impression that the bombs were dropped by the drones.

Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

Manipur BJP spokesperson and Thadou tribe leader T Michael Lamjathang Haokip has filed a police case after two dozen people, some of them armed, burned a portion of his house and fired shots in the air in Churachandpur on Sunday night.

In the first information report (FIR), Mr Haokip named 15 people as “directly or indirectly” responsible for the attack on his property and family. He also named two people who allegedly asked members of a WhatsApp group to kill him. One of the two promised to give “village land” to anyone who kills the state BJP spokesperson.

“… Suspect the involvement of the fake Thadou Tribe Council (TTC-GHQ) leaders and operatives, who have made violent rhetoric and provocative statements,” Mr Michael said in the FIR.

He attached printouts of the WhatsApp group’s screenshots which showed the discussions to kill him. The police and the cyber cell will check the phone numbers with their service providers, and if needed will take help from central anti-terror cybersecurity experts, Mr Haokip told NDTV. He declined to give further details.

In the purported screenshot of the WhatsApp group chat attached to the FIR, one of the members had written, “SA (separate administration) will not be acceptable without killing LJT (Lamjathang) first, even if the central government is willing to grant us.” Another member wrote, “I promise to give my village land if anyone kills Lamjathang.”

NDTV has seen a copy of the FIR, which shows some phone numbers in the WhatsApp group.

Mr Haokip said the attacks and threats came as a result of him raising awareness about his tribe, Thadou, being inaccurately referred to as a Kuki tribe amid the ethnic tension in Manipur. He said it was the second time his house in Churachandpur was attacked, allegedly by those who do not accept the Thadou tribe’s distinct identity.

The police case was filed a day after a new video threatening to kill the BJP spokesperson and Thadou leader was shared widely on social media. The video shows a man in black tactical wear surrounded by three in camouflage battle dress carrying AK series assault rifles. All of them wore masks.

“Lamjathang, if you speak against the community one more time or disgrace the community, we will kill you whether you are in  Guwahati or Delhi… Meiteis didn’t differentiate between Thadou, Kuki or Zomi,” the man in the middle said.

The four men cannot be village defence volunteers who usually carry licenced single-barrelled and small-calibre handguns, a retired police officer in Churachandpur said, requesting anonymity.

“They can only be insurgents, and this threat can’t be taken lightly, as they are openly claiming they can kill a civilian anywhere in the country. This would not be the first time someone from Manipur is facing a threat to life even while living outside the state,” the retired officer said.

NDTV couldn’t independently verify the video, though some members of the Thadou tribe said the video and the dialect heard in it are genuine, based on what their own sources told them in Churachandpur.

The TTC-GHQ which Mr Haokip alleged is a “fake” organisation has six advisers, and 10 executive members, according to the last published information of the group’s structure. The TTC did not take the consent of four of them before making them members of the “council”. The four have given in writing that they were not aware of their membership of the TTC. They requested anonymity for fear of attacks.

“My father’s consent was not there. Clarification already given,” the son of one of the four people said.

Calls to the TTC’s publicly available numbers went unanswered.

The TTC has been condemning Mr Haokip’s comments on the Thadou tribe not being part of Kuki. The TTC has said in a statement that it is the mainstream Thadou body and affiliated to the Kuki Inpi Manipur. “… Appropriate action shall be initiated if they continued to misuse Thadou again in future,” the TTC had said in a statement on July 21.

In its recent statement on August 20, the TTC criticised a new Thadou body called Thadou Community International (TCI) as not genuine and formed by some people “to collaborate with Chief Minister N Biren Singh”.

Mr Haokip is one of the key members of the TCI, a group that claims to be a global Thadou tribe platform to look into critical issues facing the community, particularly in Manipur.

No one was injured in the attack at Mr Haokip’s house on Sunday night. Four families displaced by the violence in Manipur also live in four small structures at his family plot, Mr Haokip had said.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and other leaders had strongly condemned the attack. “…I consider this personal harm being put on one of our recognised tribes as a direct challenge to the unity and integrity of the state. Attacks on any particular community of the recognised tribes of Manipur, as well as the attack on the family of the BJP spokesperson, are condemned in the strongest terms. We will initiate appropriate legal action against the culprits,” Mr Singh had said in a post on X.

The attack carried out on the family members of Micheal Lamjathang a leader of the Thadou community, one of the oldest among the ethnic tribes of Manipur, as well as a BJP spokesperson by vandalizing his house was an act of cowardice.
I consider this personal harm being put on…

— N. Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) August 27, 2024

The clashes between the valley-dominant Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes under the Kukis nomenclature – a term given by the British in colonial times – who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.