Amit Shah flies into Manipur to work out peace formula

New Delhi: Amid sporadic incidents of violence in Manipur, Union home minister Amit Shah began a three day visit to the trouble-torn state on Monday evening. He will hold several rounds of security meetings to assess the situation on the ground and plan further steps to restore normalcy.

Senior officials said Mr Shah is expected to hold several rounds of security meetings to assess the situation, speak to all stakeholders and civil society groups and finalise the strategy to restore peace and normalcy at the earliest.

Curfew was imposed after the ethnic violence first broke out on May 3 in many districts, but after the latest incidents of violence on Sunday the district authorities have shortened the 11-hour curfew relaxation period in Imphal East and West districts to just six and a half hours, while the Internet remains suspended.

The Indian Army, meanwhile, said on Monday that it has unearthed a plot by the insurgents to use innocent people, including women and children, as human shields to attack villages as well as the security forces in the state.

Referring to the intercepts of communication between the insurgents, Indian Army sources said: “Party A instructs and informs Party B that they will have to complete a task by May 27 and destroy a village by using people as human shields”. The intercepted chat also revealed that the insurgents had an ample supply of arms and that they were expecting more weapons to be delivered to them.

The security arrangements have been further tightened all over the state ahead of the home minister’s visit while an uneasy calm prevailed in ethnic conflict-affected Manipur, a day after a sudden spurt in clashes and firing between the militants and the security forces, officials said on Monday.

They also said that the Army  had on Monday apprehended 22 armed miscreants who tried to set houses on fire in Imphal East district and also recovered weapons from their possession.

A defence spokesperson said a large number of Army troops were mobilised on Sunday night after intelligence inputs suggested that armed miscreants were venturing out to burn houses at Sanasabi, Gwaltabi and Shabunkhol Khunao in the hilly region of Imphal East district. The arms recovered from the miscreants include five 12 bore double-barrel rifles, three single-barrel rifles, one country-made weapon with double bore and one muzzle loaded weapon”, the spokesperson said.

The latest clashes began after the Army and the paramilitary forces began combing operations to disarm communities in order to bring peace,  the officials added.

Sources in the Army also said that three miscreants along with an INSAS rifle with a magazine, 60 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition, a Chinese hand grenade and a detonator were apprehended in the New Checkon area of Imphal East district on Sunday.

A car carrying the miscreants was spotted by the security personnel. On being stopped, the three miscreants got down from the car and attempted to flee. But they were nabbed by the troops on the ground. All three miscreants along with their weapons and ammunition were later handed over to the Manipur police, sources in the Army said.

Though, officials were tight-lipped on the sporadic incident of mob violence, sources said there were also reports of mobs looting all arms and ammunition from the armouries of 7 Manipur Rifles at Khabeisoi, 2nd Manipur Rifles at Deulahlane and the 3rd India Reserve battalion at Thoubal.

Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai who has been camping in Imphal since May 25, visited some districts and held a series of meetings with various CSOs, influential community leaders and people from different communities.

The officials also said drones, mine-protected vehicles, quick reaction teams have been mobilised to undertake large-scale civilian rescue operations.

The ethnic clashes, that have claimed more than 75 lives in Manipur, broke out after a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from the reserve forest land, leading to a series of smaller agitations.

It is significant that at least 10 tribal MLAs belonging to the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi group in Manipur had demanded a separate administration for their region in the wake of the recent violent clashes between the Meiteis and tribals.

Of the 10 legislators, seven belong to the BJP, two from the Kuki People's Alliance (KPA) and one an Independent. The two KPA and the Independent MLAs were also part of the ruling NDA led by the BJP.

However, chief minister N. Biren Singh has already rejected the demand by the 10 MLAs for a separate administration for the Kuki-dominated districts of Manipur, saying that “the territorial integrity of Manipur will be protected”.