Manipur violence: Focus on ‘dialogue’ as Amit Shah announces judicial probe, peace committee

Imphal: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said a judicial inquiry headed by a retired Chief Justice of the High Court will be announced soon to probe the clashes in the northeastern state of Manipur. He also announced at a press conference held at the end of his four-day visit to the strife-torn state that a peace committee under Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey would comprise representatives of all political parties, the warring Kuki and Meitei communities and social organisations. be installed.

“The only solution to the ongoing crisis in Manipur is through dialogue,” Shah said. “We will soon announce a judicial inquiry headed by a retired high court chief justice and set up a peace committee,” he said. The Home Minister also announced a CBI inquiry to probe the FIR alleging five criminal conspiracies and one common conspiracy behind the violence in Manipur.

Soon after the press conference, Rajeev Singh, a senior IPS officer belonging to the neighboring Tripura cadre, was formally appointed as the new Director General of Police of Manipur for a period of three years “as a special case in public interest”. said the order. Singh, a 1993-batch IPS officer, who is serving as Inspector General Operations at CRPF Headquarters in Delhi, will replace P Dongle, a 1987-batch IPS officer from Manipur, for whom the post of Officer on Special Duty (Home) has been created. . He is going to retire at the end of the month.

This is expected to be the first major change in the state administration. He, however, added that “violence is a temporary phase, misunderstandings will be cleared…soon the situation will return to normal”. Officials separately said the situation remained calm on Thursday following reports of firing by militants.

Shah said that leaders of both the Meitei and Kuki communities, as well as other civil society representatives, who have met him, have assured him that they will work to soothe hurt feelings and clear misunderstandings. The home minister said an inter-agency unified command would also be created for “better coordination” among all security agencies in Manipur as multiple forces are operating on the ground.

At present, around 10,000 Army and Assam Rifles personnel have been brought to the state to maintain peace. Further, since the Central Police Force and the State Police are also working at the ground level, it was felt that a unified command is necessary to avoid confusion. Shah also told reporters that he felt that for a permanent solution to the India-Myanmar border issue, the work of fencing the border between the two countries would have to be completed.

There are apprehensions that the porous border is being used for drug smuggling and movement of militants. He said that biometrics of people coming from neighboring countries are also being collected. A large number of refugees from violence in Myanmar have also taken refuge in the border state and the central government is trying to keep track of this floating population.

Talking about the genesis of the clashes that rocked Manipur, he said the caste riots started after the Manipur High Court on April 29 sought the views of the state government on granting Scheduled Tribe status to a community. Asked about the Kuki community’s demand for a separate administrative unit, the Union minister said: “The central government had earlier made its stand clear on the territorial integrity of Manipur. I don’t want anyone to sensationalize the issue and grab headlines.” I don’t want to make a statement.”

He claimed that since the BJP came to power in Manipur nearly six years ago, the northeastern state has been free from bandhs, curfews and blockades and has reached the “pinnacle” of peace and development. He said that a relief and rehabilitation package for the families who have lost their members or got injured or damage to property in the violence would be announced by the government soon, and the money would go directly to the banks of the victims and their next of kin. be transferred to the accounts.

Shah also promised to expedite the supply of essential commodities to bring down prices in the landlocked state. “We will set up a temporary railway station at Khongsang within a week. This will help the movement of people and goods to a great extent,” he said. He also said that the government would start “temporary helicopter service to connect Imphal airport with hill districts. Tickets will be offered at Rs 2,000 per passenger and the difference will be borne by the state and central governments.”

Appealing to the citizens not to pay heed to rumours, the Home Minister said that special telephone lines would be set up where people could call and verify the veracity of the rumors being circulated. Speaking about terrorist groups, he said: “Any deviation from the Suspension of Operations Agreement (Pact Broking Ceasefire) will be considered a violation of the pacts signed by them. Strict action will be taken against the violators.”

Several Kuki militant groups have signed such deals and currently live in camps under the watchful eyes of the Assam Rifles. The statement comes in the backdrop of reports of militants taking up arms and acting as vigilantes during the riots. Army and police forces are conducting a state-wide search operation for the cache of hidden weapons. The manhunt is expected to intensify as the new police chief takes over and a unified command is set up.

Surveillance by drones and deployment of security forces will also continue, officials said. About a month ago, caste clashes broke out in the state after a ‘tribal solidarity march’ was organized to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the hill districts. After over a fortnight of calm, the state witnessed a spurt in clashes and firing between militants and security forces on Sunday. According to officials, more than 80 people have died in the violence so far.