Imphal/New Delhi:

The police chief of Manipur’s Kangpokpi district who was injured in protests by members of the Kuki tribes on Friday had been fighting extortionists and pushing back against a call for a meeting “with all police personnel” by a civil society group, intelligence sources told NDTV.

They cited two flash messages sent by Kangpokpi district Superintendent of Police (SP) Manoj Prabhakar – a month apart – to all officers in charge of police stations and outposts in the district, asking them not to give in to demands for money by “unlawful groups” and not to attend a meeting of “all police personnel of Kangpokpi district” called by a Kangpokpi-based Kuki group.

Mr Prabhakar, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who suffered a gash on his forehead amid the protest by members of the Kuki tribes on Friday, sent the first flash message on November 19, ordering all police personnel in Kangpokpi district to guard against extortion attempts by “unlawful groups”, sources who have access to the message told NDTV.

“It is learnt from sources that some unlawful groups are demanding money from Kpi [Kangpokpi] district police. In this regard, it is ordered to instruct your police personnel not to give money to such groups. Any police personnel found partying to such groups will face disciplinary action,” the message sent on November 19 to all officers in charge of police stations and outposts in the district 45 km from the state capital Imphal said.

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Police personnel, especially the junior ranks who live with their families in Kangpokpi, are vulnerable to demand for money by unlawful groups, the sources said, adding the SP was aware of this.

The IPS officer sent the second flash message to all police stations in Kangpokpi on December 19 – a day before a meeting called by a Kuki group – cautioning police personnel against attending the meeting without permission, sources said.

“It is learnt from a msg. being circulated across social media platforms that CoTU (Committee on Tribal Unity) has called all police personnel of Kpi [Kangpokpi] dist. for a meeting on 20th Dec. 2024 at 2:00 PM in Keithelmanbi community hall. In this regard, officers and personnel of all ranks are instructed to not attend the meeting without prior permission. Anyone attending the meeting without prior permission will face disciplinary action,” the SP said in the message, referring to the Kangpokpi-based Kuki group CoTU.

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Protesters from the Kuki tribes had clashed with central security forces in Kangpokpi on Friday night, days after they tried to stop the security forces from dismantling bunkers on the hills. The protesters had been looking to stop transport as part of their economic blockade enforced to demand the withdrawal of central forces from the hills in the district.

When the security forces asked them to fall back, they moved towards the office of the Kangpokpi deputy commissioner and the SP. The security forces responded with tear gas and blank firing. Individuals armed with automatic weapons were also seen out in the roads amid the protesters. The militant organisation Kuki National Front (KNF), which signed the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the Centre and the state government, is a dominant group in Kangpokpi.

The SP was hit by some projectile thrown by the mob. Visuals showed blood trickling down his forehead, above the right eyelash.

CoTU on Sunday called off the blockade, marking a temporary pause in over a week of unrest in Kangpokpi district.

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Saturday ordered the Director General of Police Rajiv Singh to prioritise the safety and security of people. The Governor also told army and paramilitary officers to fully cooperate with the administration in maintaining law and order, officials said.

Extortion In Manipur

The Kangpokpi SP’s message to police personnel to guard against demand for money by “unlawful groups”, however, is symptomatic of a wider problem that has been spreading in recent months.

There has been numerous extortion threats by groups of armed people in Manipur, especially in urban areas such as Imphal city and the district headquarters in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, sources have said, adding these groups have been taking advantage of the Manipur crisis that have kept the police and the security forces occupied on maintaining peace.

Many shop owners in Imphal, for example, have complained of being forced to pay up by armed people, despite failing businesses due to no economic activity for over a year since ethnic violence began in May 2023 between the valley-dominant Meitei community and the Kuki tribes, who are dominant in the hill areas of southern Manipur bordering Myanmar and some areas in the north.

The news website The Print reported that the Meitei insurgent group United National Liberation Front (UNLF) “reportedly collected lakhs as ‘donations’ from several politicians, according to documents recovered as ‘digital evidence’, now part of a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate.”

The Manipur Police frequently post updates on X with arrested members of the Arambai Tenggol and Kangleipak Communist Party (People’s War Group), or KCP(PWG), for alleged extortion and threats.

The KCP(PWG) is likely being used as “hired guns” to attack civilians and carry out extortion in the valley areas in order to keep tension simmering, top intelligence sources told NDTV on December 16 based on initial investigation.

They declined to say who hired these insurgents to create terror in the valley areas, citing the investigation is in an early stage.

Manipur Deadlock

Kuki civil society groups such as the Churachandpur-based Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and the CoTU, and their 10 MLAs have joined the call for a separate administration carved out of Manipur, a demand also made by the nearly two dozen militant groups that have signed the SoO agreement.

This single demand has brought the Kuki militant groups, the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs, and the civil society groups on the same page.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meitei community and the Kuki tribes have killed over 250 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, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.

Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

Protesters from the Kuki tribes clashed with central security forces in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district this evening, days after the protesters tried to stop the security forces from dismantling bunkers on the hills.

The protesters had been looking to stop transport as part of their economic blockade enforced to demand the withdrawal of central forces from the hills in Kangpokpi, 45 km from the state capital Imphal.

When the security forces asked them to fall back, the protesters moved towards the Kangpokpi deputy commissioner’s office and threw stones at the building, sources said. The security forces responded with tear gas and blanks, they said.

Several protesters were injured in the attempt by the security forces to disperse the protesters, sources said.

Some security personnel including the Kangpokpi Superintendent of Police (SP) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Manoj Prabhakar were injured, sources said.

Gunfire could be heard amid the thick blanket of tear gas, eyewitnesses told NDTV.

People Armed With Automatic Weapons

Individuals armed with automatic weapons were seen out in the roads in Kangpokpi, sources said. In unprecedented scenes, along with protesters some armed men were seen carrying automatic weapons and taking charge of the highway in Kangpokpi, sources said, adding security forces were trying to retaliate.

When ethnic violence broke out on May 3, 2023, some men in battle camouflage were also seen carrying AK series assault rifles among a mob in Kuki-dominant Churachandpur district.

The SP office remains a flashpoint with protesters refusing to return home, they said, adding reinforcements have been sent to Kangpokpi.

Earlier today, a Kuki organisation extended a shutdown in all areas in Manipur where the Kuki tribes are settled. The Kuki-Zo Council said the economic blockade – stopping essential transport on major roads and National Highways – has been extended till 2 am on Saturday.

The Kuki group’s announcement came on a day former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Ajay Kumar Bhalla took charge as Manipur’s new Governor.

Kangpokpi Superintendent of Police (SP) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Manoj Prabhakar was injured on the forehead

The Manipur government said on December 20 there is no organisation called “Kuki-Zo Council”. This group had objected to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh passing through Kangpokpi district in order to reach Senapati district, where Mr Singh participated in a local festival.

They have been demanding the Centre withdraw its forces from a village in Kangpokpi’s Uyok Ching area. Several women from the Kuki tribes were injured on December 31 during action by the security forces to disperse them while they were protesting against a move to dismantle bunkers on the hills.

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 collectively known as Kukis, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have killed over 250 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.

Guwahati/New Delhi:

A Kuki organisation has extended a shutdown in all areas in Manipur where the Kuki tribes are settled, days after protesters tried to stop central security forces from dismantling bunkers in the hills. Several protesters were injured.

The Kuki-Zo Council said the economic blockade – stopping essential transport on major roads and National Highways – has been extended till 2 am on Saturday.

The Kuki group’s announcement came on a day former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Ajay Kumar Bhalla took charge as Manipur’s new Governor.

The Manipur government said on December 20 there is no organisation called “Kuki-Zo Council”. This group had objected to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh passing through Kangpokpi district in order to reach Senapati district, where Mr Singh participated in a local festival.

The Kuki body said the shutdown is a protest against “blatant disregard for tribal rights and dignity.”

The Kuki-Zo Council said it also endorsed the economic blockade and protests called by the Kangpokpi district-based Kuki civil group Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU).

They have been demanding the Centre withdraw its forces from a village in Kangpokpi’s Uyok Ching area. Several women from the Kuki tribes were injured on December 31 during action by the security forces to disperse them while they were protesting against a move to dismantle bunkers on the hills.

Mr Bhalla, a 1984-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, served as the Union Home Secretary from August 2019 to August 2024. He has extensive experience in dealing with crisis situations in the northeast region.

He was the Union Home Secretary when ethnic violence between the valley-dominant Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, broke out in May 2023.

Over 250 have been killed and more than 60,000 have been internally displaced in the ethnic conflict.

New Delhi:

Firing has been reported from an inter-district border village between Manipur’s Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts on Christmas, security sources said.

They said reports about possible casualties are not true, adding more forces have been sent to the affected village.

More details are awaited.

Imphal:

The Manipur government has decided to again operate inter-district public vehicles under tight security from Imphal to hill districts from Wednesday amid a lull in ethnic violence in the state, according to an official order.

This will be the administration’s second attempt to resume public transport service in 19 months in the state which has been witnessing clashes between the valley-dominant Meitei community and the Kuki tribes dominant in Churachandpur and some other hill areas.

“The state government has reviewed the law and order situation in the state with the availability of security forces, response system and feasibility inputs from different agencies and has decided to resume traffic of public vehicles with adequate security deployment,” Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi said in an order.

Public vehicles will be operated from Imphal to Senapati via Kangpokpi, and from Imphal to Churachandpur via Bishnupur from Wednesday.

While Senapati is a Naga-dominated area, Kangpokpi and Churachandpur are Kuki-dominated areas. Imphal and Bishnupur are Meitei-dominated areas.

The “movement will be restricted to fixed hours only and general public desirous of joining the route are informed to contact respective offices of the Deputy Commissioners,” the order said.

“This initiative taken up by the state government is aimed at alleviating grievances faced by the general public in the state,” it said.

The state government appealed to the people to cooperate with the administration to this initiative and not to resort to violence.

“Anybody without exemption, if involved in acts which disturb movement of vehicles, will be sternly dealt with and prosecuted as per relevant laws of the land,” the order read.

Manipur has remained gripped by recurring bouts of violence since ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kukis erupted in May last year. At least 258 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless since then.

Public bus services between Imphal valley and hill districts also stopped at that time.

In December last year, the government made an attempt to run state transport buses to connect Imphal to Senapati via Kangpokpi, and Imphal to Churachandpur via Bishnupur. However, the initiative did not succeed. Almost empty buses ran between Imphal and Churachandpur while Imphal to Kangpokpi vehicles had to return due to barricades put up on the road by protesters.

Imphal/New Delhi:

A Manipur Police team that went to destroy illegal opium cultivation in the hills of Kangpokpi district were stopped by “80-90 armed miscreants” and forced to return without clearing the illegal farms, a police officer said in a first information report (FIR).

The police team had a mix of 25 personnel, and volunteers from the Liangmai Naga tribe and five drivers.

The team carried only three assault rifles as it is a physically demanding and difficult task to destroy poppy farms with farm tools while also carrying AK-type guns, a source who has first-hand information about the incident told NDTV.

“You can’t hold a weapon and also destroy poppy efficiently in such a sensitive area. The authorities should have deployed other forces along with the police,” the source said, requesting anonymity.

The small police team had no choice but to turn back when the armed miscreants tried to snatch the few guns the team had, the source said.

The area was remote and reinforcements would have taken a long time, so a decision was taken to ensure the safety of the joint team, the FIR stated.

While there is no official confirmation, there is a strong buzz in the security establishment in Manipur of a major operation involving central forces to clear new illegal opium poppy farms. The forces will retaliate if any armed miscreant threatens to stop the anti-poppy cultivation drive or fires at them, sources said.

The Kuki tribes in their demand for a separate administration carved out from Manipur often include Kangpokpi district in many unrecognised hand-drawn maps used for social media consumption.

Kangpokpi is also the turf of the insurgent group Kuki National Front (KNF), headed by ST Thangboi Kipgen, and this group is one of the over two dozen Kuki-Zo militant groups that have signed the controversial suspension of operations (SoO) agreement, which the Manipur government has been demanding to be scrapped. The SoO agreement’s last renewal deadline was in February this year.

Civil society groups of the Meitei community have alleged the hand of Kuki insurgent groups in growing illegal opium poppy in areas dominated by them.

The Kangpokpi police chief in a flash message on November 18 ordered officers in charge of Kangpokpi and G Saparmeina police stations to destroy the illegal opium poppy farms in Makhan hill range, police sources told NDTV. The area of operation fell under the jurisdiction of the police in G Saparmeina, some 35 km north of the state capital Imphal.

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“The team further proceeded by foot for about three hours and just before reaching the spot, some unknown armed miscreants numbering around 80-90 people blocked the team. The unknown miscreants were carrying guns, dagger and wooden cubs and threatened to even kill the team members if they proceeded for destroying the illegal poppy plantations,” the incident details in the FIR stated.

“Considering the isolation of the location for reinforcement to reach in time and the number of miscreants with weapons and the safety and security of the life of the [poppy] destruction team, the joint team returned without destroying the illicit poppy plantations at 3 pm,” the FIR stated.

The joint team which also included officers from the forest department and the executive magistrate had started out from G Saparmeina police station at 8.30 am.

The Makhan village authority in a statement said the government should clear the land encroachment by “opium poppy planters” and clear all the illegal cultivation from their area in four days, otherwise things would turn “repulsive and abominable”.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh in an interview to NDTV on November 21 had said the authorities have found five villages in Kangpokpi that have been growing illegal opium poppy, while the security forces were busy monitoring other sensitive areas in the ethnic crisis-hit state, adding the farms would be destroyed in a few days.

Imphal/Guwahati:

Soldiers of a central paramilitary force were told to get down from a bus in which they were travelling and the vehicle was set on fire by a mob in Manipur’s hill district Kangpokpi on Monday night, the police said. A fire truck immediately doused the blaze. No one was injured, the police said

A case has been filed against unknown people with the police station in Kangpokpi, 45 km from the state capital Imphal. The incident happened at 9 pm.

Police sources said they have questioned some suspects in the Kuki-dominated district. The bus carrying soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was on hire and it was registered in the name of an individual from the valley-dominant Meitei community, police sources said.

The mob’s action was a retaliation to the burning of two trucks in Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district last week, sources said, adding the trucks were carrying construction material to build a bridge in Churachandpur, another hill district.

The bus was taking the CRPF personnel to the Kangpokpi district commissioner’s office, where they have been posted ever since the Lok Sabha elections ended, when the mob stopped them.

Yesterday, 60 trucks carrying fuel, medicine, baby food and other essentials were stranded for a day on Manipur’s second lifeline (National Highway 37) that connects Imphal with Cachar in Assam, after protesters from the Kuki tribes blocked a bridge in Jiribam, 240 km from the state capital.

Civil society groups of the Kuki tribes had said it was a counter-blockade to members of the Meitei community setting the two trucks on fire last week.

The highway blockade was cleared by the security forces today.

The ethnic clashes between the Meitei community and the Kuki-Zo tribes began over cataclysmic disagreements on sharing land, resources, affirmative action policies, and political representation, mainly with the ‘general’ category Meiteis seeking to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category. Over 220 have been killed, and more than 50,000 have been internally displaced.

Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

A gunfight between two armed groups this morning left one dead and three injured in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district, the police said.

Gunmen attacked Koutruk village in Imphal West district from the hilltops in neighbouring Kangpokpi, leading to retaliation by an armed group from the village below, the police said.

The fierce gunfight spread to the adjacent villages of Kadangband and Senjam Chirang, the police said.

The Meitei-dominated Koutruk village in the far end of the state capital Imphal valley has seen intense clashes and has been identified as one of the most vulnerable areas since ethnic clashes broke out with the hill-dominated Kuki tribes in May 2023.

The Kuki group Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) based in Kangpokpi, 45 km from Imphal, has called a 12-hour shutdown in protest against the gunfight.

Manipur Police’s Initial Information

The gunfight comes a day after the Manipur Police said Kuki insurgents attacked a police camp and killed two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers in Bishnupur district’s Naranseina village.

Initially, police sources said heavily armed Kuki insurgents came from the hills about 2 km away using the cover of darkness at 12.45 am and attacked the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) camp with grenades, small-arms fire and crude ‘artillery’ locally known in the hills as “pumpi gun”.

The gunfight with “a group of suspected Kuki militants and their supporters” lasted 40-50 minutes, the officer-in-charge of Moirang police station said in a letter to the Bishnupur district magistrate for post-mortem of the two CRPF soldiers who were killed in action – sub-inspector N Sarkar, 55, and head constable Arup Saini, 40.

“Will Find Out Who Did It”: Security Adviser 

Later, state security adviser Kuldiep Singh told reporters the attackers were yet to be identified, and indicated they have got some leads.

Both Meitei and Kuki civil society groups have accused each other of trying to malign their community by linking the attack to insurgents from the other’s ethnicity. The security adviser, however, said the attackers are unknown though they have a rough idea of the suspects.

“… That (investigation) is at a very nascent stage, and I can’t exactly say. But you can very well anticipate and understand that whatever group in that area is active – I don’t need to repeat the names – you all know which kind of group is active in that area,” Mr Singh said, without naming the group.

CRPF Inspector General Akhilesh Prasad Singh said the attackers will be identified and punished for their actions very soon.

“There was a huge deployment of CRPF in the elections and at that time, our force had gone from a few areas for election duty. These anti-social elements got the opportunity. They felt that our strength was less in numbers and took advantage of it,” he said.

Attackers’ Motive

Mr Singh said the motive of the attackers is unknown, but “there are so many things which come to mind”.

“Like earlier also you might have seen that groups are now attacking national infrastructure like road, tower line. As a guesswork it now goes that they are attacking central forces. How can that go? It cannot be tolerated. All things will be put against them to find out, kaise ho rahan hai (how is it happening) and we will take it out,” Mr Singh said, alluding to the April 16 attack on fuel tankers on a highway.

A little-known insurgent group United Kuki National Army (UKNA) on April 17 had claimed responsibility for the ambush on civilian fuel tankers on National Highway 37 a day before. The UKNA is not part of the tripartite suspension of operations (SoO) agreement – a kind of ceasefire – signed between over two dozen Kuki-Zo insurgent groups and the Centre and the state.

The security adviser denied intelligence failure as one of the contributing factors to the deadly attack on the Naranseina IRB camp.

“Intelligence is a very broad subject. Intelligence failure can be attributed at the drop of a hat. It’s not that we were expecting they will attack any of the forces. And this is the first time they have attacked the forces. None of the Meitei or Kuki militants were attacking the forces because the forces have come to maintain peace,” Mr Singh said, adding that’s why the central forces are in the middle of both communities.

“… Even both sides (Meitei and Kuki) call the BSF, CRPF, army, Assam Rifles neutral forces. They themselves say neutral forces. So if they are neutral forces, why are you attacking the neutral forces? Whoever has done it, they will have to pay a very heavy price,” he said.

Civil Society Groups’ War Of Words

Kuki civil society organisations (CSOs) in statements alleged the attack on the CRPF camp could only have been done by some valley-based armed group, as Naranseina is a Meitei-dominated village, deep inside Bishnupur district.

“… It is highly suspicious that this is a propaganda effort of the VBIGs (valley-based insurgent groups) to mislead the people and cast the Kukis in a negative light as a cover for their numerous anti-national activities,” the CSO Kuki Inpi Manipur said in a statement.

Meitei groups pointed out the IRB camp at Naranseina is only 2 km from the hills, and the attackers came from that direction.

The CSO Meitei Heritage Society (MHC) in a statement said “the Kuki militants have become so confident about getting away that they have crossed the ‘sensitive area’ and brazenly attacked the IRB camp, killing the two CRPF soldiers.”

“As we say this, Kuki pressure groups have started circulating disinformation that it was Meiteis who attacked the IRB camp. These Kuki pressure groups had also blamed the Meiteis for the recent attack on fuel trucks on the highway and for the sabotage of a bridge in Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district. The Kuki militants are running false flag attacks to malign the Meiteis as they want violence to break out again in less than a week on May 3, the first anniversary of the Manipur ethnic crisis. This is a pattern we have seen,” the MHC said in the statement.