Imphal: Inside one of the lanes in Koirengei village in Manipur’s Imphal east, alongside a few small shops selling knick-knacks, groceries and savouries, stands a non-descript two-storey prefabricated building with a discoloured iron gate. The premises are under the constant watch of multiple CCTV cameras plotted at different vantage points.
An A4-size white paper pasted on the gate reads: “Ngasigi Oina Case Loujade”. In English, this translates to “For Today, No Case is Taken”. Next to it are the words: A.T. GHQ.
A.T. GHQ stands for Arambai Tenggol General Headquarters, two senior officials from security agencies confirmed to ThePrint. One official said that, until about three-four months ago, the two-storey building in Koirengei was an office of the Arambai Tenggol, with armed cadre moving around throughout the day, openly brandishing weapons.
“Rows of jeeps used to be lined up in the narrow lane,” said the official, speaking on the condition that he not be named.
Arambai Tenggol (AT) is a Meitei socio-cultural group which transformed into a radical armed outfit operating like militia since the ethnic conflict broke out in Manipur between the Kuki-Zo tribes and Meiteis in May 2023.
On Friday afternoon, when ThePrint visited, the locality was eerily silent. If one didn’t know, one would have missed the building for any other rundown building in the locality. But for the white paper mentioning A.T. GHQ. Seeing ThePrint approach the premises, a man in his mid-20s came out, sought identity cards, and declared: “Nobody will talk. There are only two-three persons inside and they are busy with some work.”
Asked if this was the Arambai Tenggol HQ, the man, who identified himself as John, said: “This is the residence of Korounganba but he is not here right now. AT’s headquarters is elsewhere.” Korounganba Khuman is the controversial chief of Arambai Tenggol.
“I will let you know if we want to talk to you,” John said, before retreating and closing the gate behind him.
Senior officials part of the security apparatus told ThePrint that while the premises continue to be the Arambai Tenggol HQ, with rumours of President’s Rule in Manipur gaining currency over the last two months, it is possible that some of the cadre would have moved out. “They do not want to draw any unnecessary attention,” said one official.
The Union Home Ministry Thursday evening issued a notification imposing President’s Rule in the state, keeping the Assembly in suspended animation.
‘Just lying low’
Sources in the security establishment said not just Arambai Tenggol, the cadre of other underground groups active in the Imphal Valley too has been lying low for the past two-and-a-half months, after agencies intensified their crackdown against them.
“Security agencies have been regularly intercepting messages being passed on by cadre of underground groups among each other. They mostly relate to hiding their weapons or lying low for now … this has increased since the resignation of N. Biren Singh (as chief minister),” said one official quoted earlier.
The official added that, in the case of Arambai Tenggol, for instance, security agencies are receiving inputs that some of the hardened cadre is defecting to groups like the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), while the younger volunteers are throwing away the signature black AT T-shirts and going back to whatever they were doing earlier.
This, they said, is in contrast with the image Arambai Tenggol had in the aftermath of the May 2023 violence. The Meitei Hindu revivalist group floated somewhere around 2020 had turned into a feared force, with gun-toting young men going around threatening people, including elected representatives. Last November, ThePrint had reported on how the group contributed to a climate of fear in the valley. All assembly segments in the Imphal Valley have a unit of Arambai Tenggol with cadre moving around freely, brandishing weapons.
The second official said Arambai Tenggol continues to have close to two dozen offices across Imphal Valley and members are still indulging in extortion, but such incidences are now sporadic. One won’t see them freely moving around in open jeeps with weapons. “That has stopped. Because unlike earlier, now they know that they will be picked up by the police and put behind bars. The directions are very clear. No pressure will work.”
Security officials said that, while the police were picking up members of underground groups earlier too, the numbers were very low. “Now, the police are apprehending cadre of different armed groups almost every other day for offences including threatening people or keeping unlicensed weapons… they (these groups) are a pale shadow of what they were about two years ago,” a third security official said.
It’s not just the Arambai Tenggol or Meitei Leepun but several dozen proscribed insurgent groups—both in the Imphal Valley and the hills—who had become active in the state since ethnic violence erupted in May 2023. They indulged in looting of arms, extortion and other criminal activities. But as one of the officials quoted above said, “Barring a few incidents here and there, they are for the time being mostly lying low.”
In the hills too, police and security agencies have started cracking the whip on members of underground groups, recovering looted weapons.
A senior police officer in Churachandpur district told ThePrint that, on Friday, seven men suspected to be cadre of an insurgent group, which was part of Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact, were arrested because they were moving with weapons outside the camp. “We are taking actions based on inputs we get,” the officer added.
Signed in August 2008, SoO is a tripartite ceasefire pact to end hostilities and initiate a political dialogue mandating that security forces—both central and state—and 25 insurgent groups desist from launching any operations against each other. The pact mandated that cadre of insurgent groups cannot step out of the camps with weapons. The agreement is in a limbo currently after the state government pulled out of it unilaterally in March 2023.
A senior Assam Rifles official, however, said this in no way means that they (groups like Arambai Tenggol) are winding up. “It will be foolish to assume that they have become inactive. They are very much there but are not out on the streets.”
The official added: “The situation in Manipur continues to be very volatile. With so many underground groups around, anything can trigger a flare up here anytime.”
With President’s Rule in place now, crackdown on underground groups and extortionists will intensify further, security officials told ThePrint. “Unlike in the past, police have been arresting cadre of different underground groups following the complaints that they are getting. The maximum brunt is being faced by cadre of groups like KCP (Kangleipak Communist Party), PREPAK (People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak) and UNLF (Pambei),” said the second official quoted earlier.
‘Confidence-building measures initiated’
Officials in the Manipur government reiterated the complexities in the state.
“Across the state, every day we are arresting insurgents, seizing weapons and ammunition. On an average, more than 500 houses are searched every day in different parts of the state. A strong message has gone out,” a senior official in the state administration said.
Another official said that post the appointment of former Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla as Manipur Governor and P.K. Singh as chief secretary, directions are very clear. “Nobody will be spared if found involved in criminal activities.” Adding, “Other confidence-building measures are also being initiated like not allowing protestors to gather in large numbers, opening up of highways across the state and removing the atmosphere of fear.”
“It’s a challenge but we have taken it up,” said the official.
Talking to ThePrint, P.K. Singh said: “I see a tremendous sense of hope in the general public… we will deliver what is expected of us.”
A mixed response from Kukis and Meiteis to President’s Rule has added to the complexity.
The Zomi Council, an apex body of the tribal community, welcomed the move but said in a statement Friday that the “hiatus in the absence of a communal Manipur government should be exploited to look into the legitimate political aspirations of the Zo ethnic communities in Manipur for an honourable political solution through political dialogue with established political entities”.
On the other hand, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, following a meeting Friday, issued a press statement that read: “The blatant power manoeuvre indicates a sinister agenda to place Manipur, particularly the Meitei community, under direct military control. This decision conveniently aligns with the longstanding demands of Kuki militants and separatist groups who have been advocating for the imposition of AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) and President’s Rule in Manipur.”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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