The Manipur Police have registered a criminal case against Meitei Leepun chief Pramot Singh for allegedly promoting enmity between groups and criminal conspiracy, among other charges.
A government source confirmed that the FIR was registered against Mr. Singh on July 8 at the Kangpokpi police station following a complaint by the Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), Sadar Hills, Kangpokpi. The district to north of Imphal is dominated by the Kukis.
The Meitei organisation, along with another group, the Arambai Tenggol, has been accused by the Kuki groups of instigating violence in Manipur. Though the group has been around for the past few years, it gained mass appeal in the past couple of years.
Ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities that erupted after a tribal solidarity march on May 3 has claimed more than 140 lives and displaced more than 54,000 people.
The complaint by the students’ organisation was filed on June 13, however an FIR was registered only on July 8.
When contacted by The Hindu, Mr. Singh said he was not aware of the FIR. “I have not been informed about the FIR, I am not bothered,” he added.
Mr. Singh has been booked under Sections 120B, 153A, 504, 505, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which pertain to criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc, act pre-judicial to maintenance of harmony, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, public mischief, punishment for criminal intimidation with common intention.
Cites interview
The KSO complaint mentioned an interview given by Mr. Singh to Karan Thapar of The Wire on June 7 where he said “Kukis are outsiders who are not indigenous to Manipur.” In the interview, Mr. Singh accepted that Meitei Leepun was involved in giving gun training to people who have gun licences and declared that if the government, either in Delhi or in Manipur, did not intervene quickly, “there will be a civil war and the Kukis will not be able to defend themselves.”
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The student body said Mr. Singh, in a tweet posted on April 28, said, “This is the right time... let’s annihilate our traditional rival on the hills and live peacefully”, which was a proof of preplanned intention to attack the Kuki community.
The KSO said in its complaint that the Meitei Leepun had its own volunteers and units everywhere, in all the districts of the hills and valleys and conducted meetings at various places.
MLAs’ appeal
Meanwhile, a group of 31 legislators from Manipur sent a representation to Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the “Central security forces must adopt a more proactive approach to ensure lasting peace in the region, which has been elusive over the past two months.”
“We propose replacing the 9th Assam Rifles, 22nd Assam Rifles, and 37th Assam Rifles with other Central security forces that are more inclined towards promoting the unity of the State. There are concerns regarding the roles played by certain units of the Assam Rifles, which currently pose a threat to the cause of unity within the State,” the legislators said. The said units are posted in the hill districts of Manipur.
The Manipur police said on Wednesday that suspected armed miscreants travelling in an autorickshaw tried to abduct two police personnel in Moreh.
The policemen were in plainclothes and were on way to purchase essential items, including medicines from Moreh Gate No.2 and Nepali Basti diversion point. “After a brief scuffle, the police personnel escaped to the Moreh station. The suspected armed miscreants escaped from the area after firing 2/3 rounds in the air. District police and the Central forces conducted search operations. However the armed miscreants fled the area swiftly. No casualty is reported in the incident,” the police said in a tweet.
