Imphal: On a June night this year, a little after 11.30 pm, over two dozen men brandishing guns arrived in jeeps outside the Imphal residence of Yumnam Khemchand Singh, rural development and panchayati raj minister in the N. Biren Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Manipur.
Once there, they stepped out of their vehicles and started moving towards the gate of Khemchand Singh’s house. The CCTV installed at the gates captured the commotion outside. The security personnel guarding his residence came to the gate, the police were alerted and the armed men were forced to retreat, two state BJP leaders and a security official, who wished to not be named, told ThePrint.
The incident came close on the heels of Khemchand telling Biren Singh to step down as chief minister in a meeting. BJP sources aware of the development said that Khemchand told the CM that public anger over his government’s inability to handle the Manipur situation is growing and that the elected representatives are looking up to the elected leadership to restore peace.
A similar incident happened towards the second half of October, when about two dozen men armed with guns landed at the house of a close aide of Tongbram Robindro Singh, the BJP MLA from Thanga, a little before midnight. The aide’s house, the second state BJP leader said, was just a stone’s throw away from the house of Robindro, who was in Delhi at that time.
“The aide snuck out of the house from the back side on hearing the commotion. The armed men threatened the family of the aide and told them to hand him over. The aide called the MLA for help who, in turn, dialled the security agencies in Imphal and asked for protection. Following their intervention, the armed men left,” the leader said, adding that the incident came a couple of days after 19 BJP MLAs, including some ministers, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding the resignation of CM Biren Singh.
Robindro, one of the signatories of the letter, was among the MLAs involved in coordinating and drafting the letter, the BJP leader quoted earlier said.
These are not isolated incidents. It has been in continuity over the last several months that Manipur BJP leaders, including MLAs quoted above, are living under a climate of fear that has gripped the state. In June last year, the house of former BJP minister of state Rajkumar Ranjan Singh was set on fire despite heavy security presence.
ThePrint spoke to several BJP leaders in the state to understand why the elected representatives are not talking openly about what is happening in Manipur and why there is a delay in addressing the situation. None of them wanted to talk on record or to be identified in any way, fearing repercussions by armed groups.
“Nobody wants to speak. Even we, MLAs, who are facing such threats, are afraid to come out in the open and say anything, fearing for our safety,” a BJP MLA said.
Talking about how the atmosphere of fear is playing out, the second MLA told ThePrint that all the assembly constituencies in the Imphal Valley now have a unit of Arambai Tenggol (AT), a Meitei socio-cultural group, which transformed into a radical armed outfit operating like militia since the ethnic conflict with the Kukis broke out last May.
“AT has a unit in all constituencies.Their members move around freely in broad daylight, brandishing weapons. Even the MLAs are expected to give them donations for buying arms, ration, etc. It’s happening openly but nobody dare speak about it out of fear. Have you heard something like this in any other Indian state?” the MLA said.
And then, there are several other armed groups as well that have become active in Manipur following the ethnic clashes that broke out last May, that are accused of extortions and threats among others.
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Even ministers houses not spared
The MLA added that what played out on 16 and 17 November in Imphal, when houses of several MLAs and ministers, were vandalised by a mob, many of whom were armed, is like an eye opener. Among the houses that were vandalised included those belonging to ministers and MLAs who were signatory to the letter sent to the PM.
Senior officers of Manipur Police, who wished to not be named, said that while the front row of the mob comprised angry civilians demanding action against the perpetrators of the Jiribam violence, they did not rule out involvement of underground groups in the attack.
“Shots were fired… the men were carrying arms,” one of the police officers said.
Even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s prakhand (block) office in Haraorou, located some 15 km from Imphal city, was not spared. A mob comprising about 150 people stormed the premises on the morning of 17 November, damaging whatever came their way—the ambulance parked inside, window panes, doors, computer, television sets, furniture, and solar panels on the roof, among other things.
BSF personnel now guard the office round the clock. “We do not know who they were, or why they targeted us. It was completely uncalled for. We had three-four staff inside the office, who ran away after seeing the mob,” a RSS worker at the Haraorou office told ThePrint.
On 22 November, at a press conference in his office, Manipur security adviser Kuldiep Singh said that so far 32 people have been arrested in connection with the 16-17 November attacks.
“Even the RSS office in a BJP-ruled state was not spared. Can you imagine the state of things here? We don’t know if all the people who came to attack were locals or if there were miscreants from armed groups involved,” a third BJP MLA told ThePrint.
Last week, the Sangh’s Manipur unit released a statement urging the central and the state governments to “sincerely” resolve the ongoing conflict at the earliest. “It is unfortunate that 19 months old violence in Manipur starting from 3 May, 2023, has remained unresolved,” the statement reads.
RSS’ Manipur pranth pracharak Mrityunjay refused to talk about the incident or the situation in the Northeast state.
ThePrint came across an Arambai Tenggol office (Unit 16) operating approximately 2 km from the Sangh office in Haraorou.
The third MLA cited the January instance, where Arambai Tenggol summoned the 37 BJP MLAs from Manipur and 2 MPs for a meeting in Imphal’s Kangla Fort. The elected MLAs seemingly did not have a choice, but to attend the meeting.
A couple of MLAs were also beaten up by AT members at the meeting, the third MLA added. “It was shocking that all this was playing out openly where armed men were giving diktats to elected representatives and were even beating those who protested,” the MLA said.
“Arambai Tenggol started as a Hindu revivalist group in 2020 but political patronage has empowered them. They have turned into this feared gun-toting group openly going around threatening people, including the elected representatives,” the MLA said.
In the initial days of the conflict, the MLA added, Arambai Tenggol and other groups had the support of the public, who saw them as somebody who would protect the people against attacks by the armed Kuki groups.
ThePrint reached CM N. Biren Singh via calls to know what is being done to counter the fear prevailing among the people of Manipur. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
There are rumblings of dissent within the BJP Manipur unit with many MLAs, including the Meitei MLAs in the Imphal Valley, writing to PM Modi, seeking replacement of CM Biren Singh.
“The MLAs know their constituents are getting angry over the inaction to bring things under control for the past 19 months. They have faced public ire too many times. Many of their houses have been vandalised. But still they are not coming out in the open and talking about it,” the second BJP MLA quoted above said.
Paolienlal Haokip, the BJP MLA from Saikot in Churachandpur district, told ThePrint, “The persons who created such an environment of fear, the CM and the party’s Rajya Sabha MP, are no longer responsible. It is the central government that has allowed such an environment of fear to prolong.”
“The MLAs who kept quiet can only be accomplices to the persons responsible by either commission or omission,” Haokip, who belongs to the tribal Kuki community, added.
Since last May’s ethnic conflict, all the 10 Kuki MLAs have moved out of the Imphal Valley and are living either in the hills or outside Manipur.
It’s not that security agencies in Manipur are oblivious to what is happening. “Yes, we are aware of Arambai Tenggol members or other armed groups moving around openly with sophisticated weapons. Underground groups, including the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), are openly extorting money and threatening people. We have taken action wherever we have received complaints,” a senior officer in the state’s security establishment told ThePrint.
The officer added that armed groups like Arambai Tenggol seem to have the support of the public, who see them as their protectors from the Kuki armed groups. “So, we also have to be very cautious while taking action against them.”
The officer added that ever since the ethnic clashes started in Manipur last May, some 23 underground groups have become active in Imphal alone. “We have information of around 72 underground groups in Manipur of which 23 groups are operational in the Valley.”
An officer from the Manipur Police added, “There are times when directions are given to act against an armed group moving around with sophisticated weapons. But it’s not carried out either because the local police are reluctant, or there are contrary directions.”
The officer added that since the reintroduction of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 14 November in six police station areas, instances of armed groups moving around openly with guns have declined.
ThePrint reached Rajiv Singh, Director General of Police, Manipur Police, via calls. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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Arambai Tenggol (AT) is not the problem here. Large scale illegal immigration across the Indo-Myanmar border is the root cause. The illegal settlements of Kuki-Hmar-Zomi people in the remote and forested hills of Manipur is the root cause of the situation.
The only solution to the problem is to round up every single illegal immigrant in Manipur and deport them to Myanmar.