‘Responded in calibrated manner’: Army on attack by armed rioters in Manipur

Armed rioters fired at security forces in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district when the soldiers were on their way to a village after reports of unprovoked firing on Thursday morning, an army spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the troops responded in a calibrated manner and that there were unconfirmed reports of some casualties among the armed rioters.

In a post on Twitter, the Indian Army’s Spear Corps said troops were on their way to village Haraothel to prevent escalation of violence following reports that armed rioters had carried out unprovoked firing at 5:30am. “While enroute to the site, own columns drew effective fire from armed rioters. Own troops responded in a calibrated manner to prevent any collateral damage. Swift action by troops resulted in cessation of firing. Additional columns moved to the area,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that there were reports of large crowds gathering at the spot and that the situation was being closely monitored.

At least 115 people have died and nearly 40,000 displaced in the ethnic clashes which first erupted on May 3 in Churachandpur town after tribal Kuki groups called for protests against a proposed court-ordered tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the majority Meitei community. Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders.

According to state police estimates, at least 3,500 weapons were looted by mobs over the past month. There have been multiple instances of rioters using these weapons. Besides, security forces are also having to deal with instances of mobs led by women stopping them from working.

The army on Monday released a video that put together purported visuals from a number of operations and levelled four serious allegations – that women activists were helping rioters flee, interfering in operations during the day or at night, interfering in the movement of logistics, and digging up the entry to the Assam Rifles camp to cause delays.