Imphal/Guwahati
A new controversy has erupted in the strife-torn northeastern State following the Manipur DGP’s orders for transfer and posting of police personnel.
The ITLF cited the order for posting of more than 100 Kuki-Zo tribal police personnel to Meitei-majority areas and termed it a “death sentence”.
In its letter to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the ITLF sought his immediate intervention to stop the execution of this “discriminatory order” issued by the Manipur DGP.
“It requires the Kuki-Zo cops to travel to Meitei-inhabited districts, and if they survive the journey, they will be stationed with mostly Meitei police personnel. In other words, this is a death sentence for these policemen as the government cannot guarantee their safety,” ITLF spokesman Ginza Vualzong said, adding that given the prevailing situation, such transfers are “unacceptable”.
The ITLF pointed out that the violence in Manipur has led to a mass exchange of population on ethnic lines and it has led to a complete physical separation of communities.
“Thousands of Kuki-Zo tribals recall how they barely survived being lynched by mobs in the State capital and its adjoining valley areas, as they fled to army camps or to the jungle seeking safety. The unlucky ones were lynched on the streets or in their homes by merciless mobs led by the militant groups,” the letter said adding the Central and State security forces personnel belonging to the Kuki-Zo community are not safe either.
“This resulted in all tribal police personnel being evacuated to the tribal districts. A recent incident, where three tribal security personnel who were trying to report for duty in Moirang were beaten up mercilessly by a Meitei mob before they were rescued by the Central security forces, serves as a reminder of the danger faced by the Kuki-Zo community,” ITLF stated in its letter.
More than 200 persons have died, over 1500 others injured and thousands rendered homeless in the ethnic clashes that erupted in the State on May 3 last year after a Tribal Solidarity March against the Meiteis’ demand for accordance of ST status to them and the High Court’s directions to the State government to consider their demand. The Manipur High Court on Wednesday deleted the concerned paragraph of its March 27, 2023 order.
