AFSPA back in 6 police station areas as Home Ministry concludes Manipur situation continues to be ‘volatile’

The Disturbed Areas status, which was in place for all of Manipur except 19 police stations in the Meitei-dominated valley areas from where it was withdrawn between April 2022 and April 2023, has now been extended to the jurisdictions of Sekmai and Lamsang police stations in Imphal West, Lamlai in Imphal East, Moirang in Bishnupur, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi and Jiribam police station in Jiribam.

The first four areas are located on the borders of the central Imphal valley, along the borders of Kuki-Zomi majority hill areas, where the Disturbed Areas notification under AFSPA is already in place.

Jiribam, which is currently in the throes of violence, is located at the state’s western-most extreme along Assam’s Cachar district. It has a mixed population and is bordered by the hill districts of Pherzawl and Tamenglong.

The Disturbed Area status had been rolled back from Sekmai, Lamsang, Lamlai and Jiribam in 2022, and from Moirang and Leimakhong in 2023, just a month before the ongoing conflict began.

Leimakhong is the home of the 57 Mountain Division, also known as the Red Shield Division and part of the III Corps of the Indian Army.

The AFSPA provides immunity to armed forces personnel – it disallows prosecution of persons acting under the Act except with the sanction of the Central government. It empowers an officer of the armed forces to “fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death” against “any person who is acting in contravention of any law or order” if they are of the opinion that it is necessary.

In the notification, the MHA stated that a review of the situation in Manipur found that the situation continues to be “volatile” and “intermittent firing in violence prone areas continues in the fringe areas of Bishnupur-Churachandpur, Imphal East-Kangpokpi-Imphal West and Jiribam districts”. It also stated that in many of these incidents, there have been instances of the “active participation of insurgent groups in heinous acts of violence”.

It stated that the imposition of the Disturbed Areas status in these six areas was found warranted to “carry out well-coordinated operations by the security forces to maintain the security situation and contain the activities of insurgent groups in these areas”.

During the course of the ongoing conflict in the state, the Army and Assam Rifles have been demanding that more parts of Manipur be brought under the AFSPA provisions. With the inclusion of these “fringe areas”, a security official based in Manipur said that the move is expected to lead to “more caution”.

“With the deployment of 20 additional CAPF companies, the reimposition of AFSPA in these areas is a natural progression. For now, it may not operationally make a difference, but it may lead to more caution and create some fear about openly carrying weapons. These are the most volatile areas for the conflict; it has not been extended to the heart of the valley,” the official said.

Manipur has had the Disturbed Area status under the AFSPA since 1980, and it was only withdrawn from some parts of Imphal in 2004 following strong protests after the killing of 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama earlier that year.

Since 2022, areas notified as Disturbed Areas have been incrementally reduced. It had been removed from 15 police stations in six districts in April 2022, and with its removal from another four police stations on April 1, 2023, it had been withdrawn from the jurisdiction of 19 police stations in total, all located in the Meitei-dominated valley.

A press statement announcing this decision on March 25, 2023 had hailed it as a sign of “significant improvement in the security situation due to the untiring efforts of the Modi government”.

A little over a month later, the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state broke out on May 3.

The Disturbed Areas notification is applicable for a period of six months, following which it can be periodically extended by the MHA after assessing the situation. Just a few weeks ago, on September 30, the MHA had extended the Disturbed Areas notification for the parts of Manipur where it was already in place.