New Delhi: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has made it mandatory for its troops in Manipur to travel in armoured vehicles and is ramping up deployment in the troubled state, ThePrint has learnt.
The mandatory instructions would apply even to routine movement, such as that of rations, said sources, adding that around 100 bulletproof vehicles would be deployed in the state to ensure smooth implementation of the updated standard operating procedure (SOP).
“There will be at least 100 such vehicles deployed in the state in a phased manner, and the process of deployment has begun,” a security official told ThePrint Thursday, requesting anonymity.
It is learnt that the updated SOP was based on assessments drawn from ambushes in the Rajouri-Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir between 2000 and 2023. “There have been a series of incidents and ambushes on the troops during their movement for administrative reasons. The troops are not generally prepared mentally for a gunfight during such roles, and hence they have suffered setbacks in the past,” the security official said.
Adding, “There is no room for such laxity at this time in Manipur, in the wake of the renewed wave of violence, and hence a comprehensive instruction has been given to the local formation for strict compliance. A virtual ban has been imposed on any sort of stray movement.”
The development comes days after a patrolling party of the Assam Rifles were ambushed by unidentified gunmen in Ukhrul district on 6 July. The attack on NH-202, near Noungshong Kong village, claimed the lives of two Assam Rifles personnel.
On Tuesday, a mob vandalised an Assam rifles camp in Senapati district after security personnel conducted a search in the area to track down armed cadres of the NSCM (IM). This followed the ambush in Ukhrul district on 6 July, and the killing of one Assam Rifles jawan on 13 July in a suspected IED blast in Chumoukedima district of Nagaland.
The NSCN-IM or National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) is a Naga insurgent group. It has been under a ceasefire with the Government of India since 1997.
CoBRA deployment & Naga-Kuki hostilities
Sources in the security establishment also confirmed that two battalions of the elite CRPF Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) have been deployed in Manipur. There are currently at least 320 CAPF companies in the state, one source estimated.
Trained in guerrilla tactics and jungle warfare, CoBRA is a specialised elite unit of the CRPF.
“Their pre-induction training was completed where they were given a detailed briefing on the current situation in the state, scope of their work and how to deal with a crowd in the face of hostile situations,” said the security official quoted earlier.
The CoBRA troops have been trained in Manipur, as well as at the CRPF’s Counter Insurgency and Anti Terrorism School (CIAT) in Assam’s Silchar. “These troops were also briefed with specific instructions on how to deal with women who form a major part of the unrest and picketing right after any incident,” the security official said.
The CoBRA has been based at nodal points to enable the Manipur Police and the CRPF to rope them in for counter-insurgency operations in the state. “They have been given the mandate of accompanying the CRPF and state police during operations, a combing exercise to destroy the bunkers established by the insurgent elements as well as to dominate the ambush points identified by the forces,” a second security official said.
These developments come at a time when the state, already reeling under ethnic violence between Kukis and Meiteis, is now grappling with fresh security challenges emanating from hostilities between Kukis and Nagas. The hostility that stemmed from a brawl in February, which was triggered by a Naga teacher allegedly asking a group of Kuki youths sitting and drinking in an area in Ukhrul to stop, has since progressed to a full-blown hostilities after the abduction and killing of six Naga civilians from Kangpokpi district in May. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week arrested a couple in connection with the killings.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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