The Chingdai Area Core Committee has strongly condemned the Manipur Police statement allegedly linking the Nongshum incident with three villagers apprehended at S. Phailengkot on October 20, accusing the authorities of misleading the public, targeting innocent village volunteers and applying security measures selectively.
The committee, representing the people of Chingdai area under Saikul subdivision of Kangpokpi district, demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all three apprehended individuals, including civil society leader Seilal Haokip.
The committee also demanded the deployment of one battalion of Central security forces in the area under the supervision of the Kangpokpi Superintendent of Police, besides a grouping centre for displaced villagers with provisions for relief, rehabilitation and resettlement.
Seilal Haokip’s Detention Termed ‘Criminalisation Of Peacemakers’
Describing Seilal Haokip as a prominent civil society leader who had worked to bridge the gap between central security forces and the public, the committee said he had played a significant role in maintaining peace, promoting reconciliation and facilitating the rehabilitation and resettlement of the Chingdai area.
“Branding him as guilty is highly unfortunate. The government should be rewarding such peacemakers, not criminalising them,” the committee said, demanding his immediate and unconditional release.
It said Haokip was undergoing treatment for an eardrum injury and liver cirrhosis and held the government responsible for any untoward development concerning his health. The committee also demanded that the government bear the full cost of his medical treatment.
The committee maintained that the other two apprehended individuals had no links with insurgent or militant groups and were village volunteers whose sole objective was to protect their villages from possible intrusion.
Questioning the police’s alleged method of investigation, it said the authorities appeared to be forcing a narrative linking the volunteers to the Nongshum incident and rejected the attempt to associate the three villagers with the Nongshum incident and called for an impartial investigation based on evidence.
Questions security forces over alleged inaction during May 2023 violence
In a sharp criticism of Manipur Police, the committee questioned their response to the violence of May 31, 2023, when, it alleged, thousands of Arambai Tenggol members and Meitei mobs, with the support of the Gorkha Regiment stationed at Chanung, surrounded the area, killing people, burning houses and destroying properties.
The committee asked where the security forces were when residents needed protection, alleging that the failure to prevent killings and arson had severely eroded public confidence in the security establishment.
It said the community had suffered under what it described as the high-handedness of former chief minister N. Biren Singh and his associates and now felt insecure under the present leadership of Chief Minister Y. Khemchand and the deployment of security forces.
“As long as the biased nature of the Meitei-centric government regime and the biased disposition of the security forces continue, peace, security and development in Manipur will remain a future impossible tense,” the committee said.
Arms recovery justified as self-defence amid alleged security vacuum
While acknowledging the recovery of arms by security forces, the committee said the Chingdai area had repeatedly sought protection since the ethnic conflict erupted in May 2023 but had allegedly received no adequate security guarantees.
Instead, it claimed, residents were chased away, killed and deprived of their homes and properties, forcing them to abandon their villages, houses and agricultural fields.
The committee argued that when the government and law enforcement agencies failed to protect people, they were compelled to take measures for their own safety.
It challenged the neighbouring Meitei villages of Chanung to identify any instance in which residents of the Chingdai area had created disturbances, killed people or burnt houses, maintaining that their actions were intended solely to safeguard their villages and inhabitants.
Cites alleged double standards in security operations
The committee also accused security forces of applying different standards in responding to incidents involving different communities.
It pointed out that a villager from P. Moulding in the Leimakhong area was allegedly killed by NSCN-IM on the same day as the operation at S. Phailengkot, questioning whether security forces had launched a similar operation to apprehend those responsible.
It further referred to the burning of houses at Patlenjang, near TM Kashom in Ukhrul district, on the same day and asked whether any comparable operation had been conducted to identify and arrest the perpetrators.
“Then why was an operation launched, creating fear psychosis in S. Phailengkot, against people who have never been linked to the Nongshum incident?” the committee asked.
The allegations of selective action and the circumstances surrounding the apprehension of the three villagers could not be independently verified.
Appeals for respect for buffer zone
The committee said residents of the Chingdai area had consistently respected the buffer zone established by security forces and had neither crossed nor approached it.
It appealed to all communities to respect the buffer zone and maintain the existing arrangement until a broader peace agreement was reached.
Demands security, release and rehabilitation
Reiterating its demands, the Chingdai Area Core Committee called for:
I). Immediate and unconditional release of the three individuals apprehended by the joint team of Manipur Police, CRPF and CoBRA.
II). Deployment of one battalion of Central security forces on the Chingdai side under the supervision of the Kangpokpi SP to ensure security and enable residents to carry out their daily activities without fear and mental distress, and
III). Establishment of a grouping centre with adequate relief, rehabilitation and resettlement arrangements for villagers who had abandoned their homes due to fear and insecurity.
The committee said the government must ensure equal protection and fair treatment for all communities if it was genuinely committed to restoring peace and tranquillity in Manipur.