Manipur police have on their own registered an FIR against troops of the Assam Rifles for allegedly obstructing police teams that were pursuing suspected Kuki militants accused of involvement in the killings of three Meitei men on Saturday morning.
The FIR has been lodged against troops of the 9th battalion of the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force commanded by officers of the Indian Army. The 9th battalion is deployed in some parts of Bishnupur district, including Kwakta, and some parts of the adjoining Churachandpur district.
Citing the same incident among other grievances, the Manipur BJP unit has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his necessary intervention in getting the Assam Rifles “permanently” replaced by any other paramilitary force “in the interest of the general public” in the state.
On Monday, Meira Paibis (women torch-bearers) had staged protests at several areas in the Imphal valley to seek the removal of the Assam Rifles from Manipur.
The protest was against alleged excesses committed against Meira Paibis on August 3 when they tried to march from Phougakchao Ikhai (Bishnupur border) to Torbung Bangla (Churachandpur district) in protest against the proposed burial of 35 Kuki-Zo people which was subsequently deferred.
“All the Meira Paibis want the removal of the Assam Rifles, they are supporting the Kuki militants who have killed many innocent people. They never control the violence of the Kukis. Instead of them, some other forces may be deployed. We only want that there is no favouritism,” one of the Meira Paibis alleged.
The police FIR against the Assam Rifles personnel was registered on August 5 on a complaint lodged by a sub-inspector of the Phougakchao Ikhai police station.
The complaint alleged that state police teams were “proceeding” towards Pholjang road along Kwakta Ward No 8, where the killings of the Meitei men took place, to conduct “a search operation to trace out the accused Kuki militants” who might have taken shelter in the adjoining area between Kwakta and Pholjang village.
However, on reaching Kutub Wali Masjid located at Kwakta Ward No 8, the state police teams were “stopped and blocked” by the personnel of the 9 Assam Rifles by “parking their Casper vehicle in the middle of the Kwakta-Pholjang road...,” the complaint claimed.
It alleged that this “arrogant act” of the Assam Rifles personnel “gave a chance to the accused Kuki militants to escape freely” to a safe zone.
Therefore, the suo motu case was “registered” by the Phougakchao Ikhai PS under the Moirang sub-division of Bishnupur district under multiple IPC sections for investigation.
The IPC sections included 166 (public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person), 186 (voluntarily obstructing a public servant from discharging duty), 189 (threat to a public servant with injury), 341 (wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging duty), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (criminal act by several persons with common intent).
Besides, an order issued by the state police headquarters on August 7 has decided to deploy the CRPF and the civil police in place of 9 Assam Rifles personnel to man a checkpoint at Moirang Lamkhai on the Kangvai-Bishnupur Road, also under Moirang PS in Bishnupur district.
According to an earlier order issued on August 3, personnel of the Assam Rifles/army, the state police and the CRPF were to be deployed at the proposed 24-hour checkpoint to “thwart the movement of armed miscreants and militants”.
