Manipur: Centre sets up peace panel, to include ‘ethnic groups’

Meanwhile, the MHA has extended the deployment of 114 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in the state till June 30. According to initial assessments, about 4,000 arms, including sophisticated weapons, and over 5.5 lakh ammunition — which were reportedly looted from government armouries — are still missing.

The peace committee was part of a series of measures, including a judicial probe panel, announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the end of his four-day visit to Manipur from May 29 to June 1.

“Government of India has constituted Peace Committee in Manipur under the chairpersonship of the Governor, Manipur. The members of the committee include the Chief Minister, a few ministers in the state government, MP, MLAs and leaders from different political parties,” the MHA said in a statement.

The committee includes “former civil servants, educationists, litterateurs, artists, social workers and representatives of different ethnic groups”, it said.

Asked for details on the composition of the peace committee, an official said: “They (Kuki groups) have asked for some time before informing about their decision. The state government has several Meitei representatives, and they have given their approval for joining.”

“The mandate of the committee will be to facilitate the peace-making process among various ethnic groups of the state, including peaceful dialogue and negotiations between conflicting parties and groups. The committee should strengthen social cohesiveness, mutual understanding and facilitate cordial communication between various ethnic groups,” the MHA statement said.

In a related development, the MHA has extended the deployment of 114 companies of CAPFs in the state till June 30. “It has been decided to extend the deployment of 114 companies – 52 companies of CRPF, 10 Rapid Action Force, 43 companies of BSF, four companies of ITBP and five companies of SSB — upto June 30,” the MHA said.

According to sources, security forces recovered 57 arms, 1,588 ammunition and 23 bombs from Imphal East, Kakching, Tengnoupal and Bishnupur districts of Manipur in the last 24 hours. A total of 953 arms, 13,351 ammunition and 223 bombs of different kinds have been recovered so far.

Nearly 100 people have been killed in the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis which began on May 3, following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Even on Friday, three persons, including an elderly woman, were killed in Kangpokpi district.

On June 4, the Centre announced a Commission of Inquiry, headed by former Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Ajai Lamba, to probe the violence.

During his visit to Manipur, Shah had also announced a CBI probe into six FIRs – five on alleged criminal conspiracy and one on general conspiracy behind the violence in Manipur.

On Friday, the CBI re-registered six cases transferred by the Manipur government pertaining to incidents of largescale violence leading to destruction and looting of properties, arson, looting/ snatching of arms/ ammunition and loss of human lives. The CBI has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the cases.