Day after 3 bodies found in river, Centre directs security forces to ‘take steps to restore peace in Manipur’

In a statement, the Centre said that the security scenario in Manipur has remained fragile for the past few days. “Armed miscreants from both communities in conflict have been indulging in violence, leading to unfortunate loss of lives and disruption in public order. All the security forces have been directed to take necessary steps to restore order and peace. Strict action would be initiated against anyone trying to indulge in violent and disruptive activities,” it said.

The Centre has also directed the state government to hand over all important cases to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for effective investigation. “Public are requested to maintain peace, not believe in rumours and cooperate with the security forces to maintain law and order in the state,” it said.

Six people of a family – three women and three children, including a baby – had gone missing from Jiribam’s Borobekra after violence in the area. All six are from the Meitei community and had been living in a relief camp set up at the Borobekra police station after violence gripped the area in June. According to security officials, while family members are yet to identify the bodies, the descriptions matched three of those missing. According to an official, there had been an input that the bodies were seen floating in the river, following which Assam Rifles personnel retrieved them. The area from which they have been retrieved is called Jirimukh, where the Jiri River meets the Barak River.

On Tuesday, the Centre sent 20 additional CAPF companies comprising about 2,000 personnel to Manipur in the wake of fresh attacks and law and order issues in the state. In an order issued on November 12 from the Ministry of Home Affairs, it has been stated, “In order to maintain the law and order situation in Manipur, it has been decided to provide additional 20 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) – 15 from the CRPF (Ex-Assam) and five from the Border Security Force (Ex-Tripura) to the Manipur government with immediate effect and up to November 30 for maintaining law and order in the state.”

With the deployment of 20 more companies of CAPFs, a total of 218 companies of CAPFs – 115 from the CRPF, eight from RAF, 84 from Border Security Force (BSF), six from Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and five from Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), will be available with the Manipur government up to November 30.