Amid Manipur violence, DGP P Doungal transferred, Rajiv Kumar to replace him

#JUSTIN: IPS Rajiv Singh has been appointed as DGP- Manipur & head of police. @IndianExpress https://t.co/M73qWiQMuN pic.twitter.com/FXLr7mj0Yb

— Mahender Singh Manral (@mahendermanral) June 1, 2023

On Wednesday, Singh had been sent to Manipur on inter-cadre deputation for three years. “The undersigned is directed to refer to the subject cited above and to convey the approval of Appointments Committee of the Cabinet for Inter-cadre deputation of Shri Rajiv Singh, IPS (TR:93), presently working as IG, CRPF, from Tripura cadre to Manipur cadre for a period of three years from the date of joining, in relaxation of the policy as a special case in public interest,” the order said.

The transfer comes at a time Manipur is seeing ethnic conflict since violence broke out in the state on May 3, the toll of which has climbed to 80. The state witnessed a sudden spurt in clashes and firing between militants and security forces on Sunday, after a relative lull for over a fortnight.

Ethnic violence first broke out in Manipur after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.