Kuki groups protest day after govt backtracks on ‘Kuki militants’ intel

An intelligence input from the CMO to the DGP, Security Advisor, Chief Secretary and Home Commissioner was “leaked” and widely circulated, spreading panic among residents of Manipur’s Meitei-majority valley.

The protest rally was organised by the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), a Kuki organisation, and later the protesters submitted a memorandum to the district's Deputy Commissioner.

Members of the Kuki-Zo community protested Thursday in Kangpokpi district a day after Manipur Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh and DGP Rajiv Singh issued a joint statement stating that a recent intelligence input issued by the CMO on “over 900 Kuki militants” entering the state from Myanmar could not be substantiated on the ground.

Soon afterwards, the CMO also backtracked on its earlier input. “…It is now ascertained that possibility of any such misadventure by armed groups is remote. The public need not worry further in this regard,” read the note.

The protest rally was organised by the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), a Kuki organisation, and later the protesters submitted a memorandum to the district’s Deputy Commissioner.

The memorandum, addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, emphasised that the recent statement by Kuldiep Singh, regarding the alleged influx of 900 Kuki militants from Myanmar, is viewed by the Kuki-Zo community “as an attempt to propagate the same ethnocentric narrative led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh.”

It also demanded to expedite the Suspension of Operation (SoO) negotiation with the Kuki-Zo insurgent groups.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) also issued a statement, warning that if any untoward incidents occur due to the earlier “leaked intelligence input”, the Chief Minister and the security advisor should be held responsible for publicising “false intelligence.”

On September 17, an intelligence input from the CMO to the DGP, Security Advisor, Chief Secretary and Home Commissioner was “leaked” and widely circulated, spreading panic among residents of Manipur’s Meitei-majority valley. It stated that “over 900 Kuki militants, newly trained in the use of drone-based bombs, projectiles, missiles and jungle warfare, have entered Manipur from Myanmar”. It went on to state they are grouped in units of 30 and are “scattered in the periphery”, and are “expected to launch multiple coordinated attacks on Meitei villages around September 28”.

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