Manipur tribal body urges Amit Shah to revoke transfer of Kuki police personnel, reimpose AFSPA in Imphal Valley

The Committee on Tribal Unity, or the CoTU, Sadar Hills Kangpokpi District submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to rescind the Government of Manipur order about the recent transfer and posting of police personnel on the grounds of "impracticality and impossibility." The tribal body has also appealed to the Home Minister Shah to re-imposed AFSPA in the 19 Police Stations of the Imphal valley in Manipur.

The memorandum was submitted to the Union Home Minister through the Deputy Commissioner of Kangpokpi district.

The CoTU stated in the memorandum that the recent transfer and posting, attachment or detachment of police officers/personnel on February 14, concerning 108 Kuki-Zo police personnel at this critical juncture with heightened polarization on ethnic lines is devoid of logic and uncalled for.

The tribal body further stated that several high-ranking Kuki-Zo civil & police officers are unable to perform their duties since the state could not ensure their safety, hence it is highly impractical and unattainable for these 108 Police personnel to travel back to Imphal for duty.

Drawing the immediate attention of the Union Home Minister to look into the security aspect of the present sectarian conflict which has now entered its tenth months, the CoTU stated that the misplaced priorities by the current dispensation in the state of Manipur to recover the 5000 assault rifles and 6 lacs ammunitions looted from the state police armouries in the first week of the conflict in May last year, is more of concern rather than the preconceived notion of foreign involvement.

The CoTU further said that the imposition of the Arm Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) in all the 19 Police Stations in the Imphal Valley districts is a prerequisite to recovering those looted arms and thwarting armed miscreants.