A joint body of six students' organisations on Saturday condemned the sharing of false reports on social media in connection with the Manipur crisis and urged the authorities concerned to take action against such activities.
In a joint release, the All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU), Manipuri Students' Federation (MSF), Democratic Students' Alliance of Manipur (DESAM), Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA), Students' Union of Kangleipak (SUK), and the Apunba Ireipakki Maheiroi Sinpanglup (AIMS) condemned the circulation and posting of false reports on social media in connection with Manipur crisis.
It has been truly unfortunate that the Twitter accounts of Kuki Students' Organisation (@KSO_Imphal) called for disbanding the Manipur Police for standing up against the aggression of Assam Rifles, it stated.
The said account shared the viral video of the tensions that erupted between Sugnu Police and 37 Assam Rifles after the AR blocked the main gate of Sugnu Police Station and SDPO office.
The video was uploaded by another Twitter account of KSO's Pune branch, KSO_PUNE (@KsoPune2216) which made a false statement that "Meitei Manipur Police personnels challenging the Assam Rifles Jawan this morning at Sugnu PS, Manipur..."
It stated that without having to expose the falseness of the claim, the video itself stands as evidence to how the AR blocked the main gates of the Sugnu Police Station and the SDPO. It also shows how one of the Casspir vehicles illegally blocked the roadway as well. Sugnu in Kakching district recently faced an onslaught of Kuki militants who killed many innocent Meitei villagers and torched several of their houses, it mentioned.
Since Sugnu and many other peripheral areas are vulnerable to such attacks by Kuki militants, the police personnel must stay prepared and ready as they must swiftly act to protect innocent civilians at a moment's notice. The Manipur Police personnel were right in protesting and expressing their anger towards the Assam Rifles pesonnel for blocking the gates, it stated.
The six student bodies further questioned the AR's intention behind carrying out “such a reckless act with complete disregard of Manipur State Police when the state is in crisis.”
The personnel of Sugnu Police Station have indeed done a commendable act of standing up against the oppressive and aggressive nature of the 37 AR, it stated.
It further alleged Twitter handle @KSO Imphal of falsely claiming in a Twitter post that "Phaileng village in Kangpokpi district is attacked by Meitei radicals. Automatic and mortars reportedly used by the attackers.”
Since the beginning of this conflict, the Meitei villagers in the peripheral areas have been facing continuous attack and onslaughts of the Kuki militants who are using sophisticated weapons such as automatic assault rifles and snipers, despite the arrival of Central forces in the state, it mentioned.
With no support from the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles, the helpless Meitei villagers resorted to defending themselves with a few licensed guns, it stated. This true narrative of the real victims was stolen by the Kuki IT Cell and cooked up a fake story, portraying themselves as innocent villagers facing attacks and started spinning a web lies on social media to play the victim card, it stated.
Many media houses have fallen prey to this cleverly designed toolkit by Kuki propagandists, it added.
It further condemned the posting of false reports by the Propagandists on social media and urged the concerned authorities to take strong action against the ongoing activity of creating more divisions and hostilities among communities by posting fake news and false propaganda on social media platforms.
The public is also appealed not to believe in such false rumours and fake reports, and take active cooperation and support in restoring peace and normalcy in the state, it stated.
It further questioned how the data of 22 Meitei officers were leaked on social media.
“Amid the increasing mistrust towards the Central forces, it is apparent that this leak could not have occurred without the help of insiders among the Indian Army and Assam Rifles,” it alleged.
Questioning the identity of the insiders, it questioned how many Kuki officers are there in the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles. The incident was a complete failure of the Intelligence, it stated. This could also be interpreted as another deliberate ploy to deepen the crisis and further inflame the conflict between the communities, it added.
