The Centre has reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur in areas under the jurisdiction of six police stations including violence hit Jiribam and villages in the fringe areas of the valley frequently targeted by Kuki militants.
The Home ministry’s unilateral move followed the high-profile visit of Director General of Assam Rifles Lt General Vikas Lakhera in Churachandpur on Thursday in a bid to ‘negotiate’ the safe release of 6 abducted women and children from Churachandpur.
Various Kuki-Zo groups had been demanding the reimposition of AFSPA in Imphal valley and return of Assam Rifles battalions withdrawn from Churachandpur and Kangpokpi.
An area or district is notified as 'disturbed' under AFSPA to facilitate the operations of the armed forces.
AFSPA gives armed forces operating in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest and open fire if they deem it necessary for the 'maintenance of public order'.
In a notification, the Union home ministry said the decision was taken given the continuous volatile situation there due to the ongoing ethnic violence.
The police station areas where AFSPA has been reimposed are Sekmai and Lamsang in Imphal West district, Lamlai in Imphal East district, Jiribam in Jiribam district, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi and Moirang in Bishnupur.
The fresh order came after the Manipur government imposed AFSPA in the entire state on October 1, barring 19 police station areas that include these six.
The police stations excluded from the Manipur government's October 1 order were Imphal, Lamphal, City, Singjamei, Sekmai, Lamsang, Patsoi, Wangoi, Porompat, Heingang, Lamlai, Irilbung, Leimakhong, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Nambol, Moirang, Kakching, Jiribam.
Eleven suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces on Monday after insurgents in camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at a police station and an adjacent CRPF camp in Manipur's Jiribam district.
Six civilians, including women and children were abducted by armed militants from the same district on the same day while two elderly inmates of nearby relief camp were found charred to death in houses set on fire by militants. Two other inmates who went missing during the clash were rescued later on.
More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.
The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes in Imphal valley and the adjoining hills, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year.
Amid the escalating violence, the Ministry of Home Affairs had sent 20 additional companies of central armed police forces, or about 2,000 personnel, to the state.
Fifteen companies of the Central Reserve Police Force have been moved to Manipur from Assam and five Border Security Force companies have been transferred from Tripura, according to a directive by the ministry.
With the additional deployment, Manipur now has a total of 218 companies of central armed police forces, with over 29,000 personnel deployed.
This comprises 115 companies from the Central Reserve Police Force, eight from the Rapid Action Force, 84 from the Border Security Force, five from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and six from the Sashastra Seema Bal.
Since 1980, Manipur has been declared a disturbed area under AFSPA. The designation was withdrawn from certain parts of Imphal in 2004 due to protests after the killing of 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama earlier that year.
The disturbed area declaration was in force in the entire Manipur (except the Imphal municipality area) from 2004 till early 2022.
In April 2022, the Manipur government issued a notification where it said the disturbed area tag will no longer be applicable in seven police station areas of Imphal West district, four police station areas under Imphal East district and one police station area each in the districts of Thoubal, Bishnupur, Kakching and Jiribam.
There are 16 districts in Manipur.
There have been protests and demands for the complete withdrawal of AFSPA from the northeast as well as Jammu and Kashmir for its alleged 'draconian' provisions.
Manipuri activist Irom Chanu Sharmila fought against the law by being on hunger strike for 16 years, before ending it on August 9, 2016.
