Imphal: In yet another instance of deteriorating law and order situation in Manipur, a large gathering of local people armed with sticks and sling shots gathered Thursday outside police stations across five districts in Imphal valley to protest against the arrest of five armed Meiteis who were caught roaming around in police uniform on 16 September.
The crowd vandalised property, breached barricades and also tried to set houses of policemen on fire.
Curfew was subsequently reimposed in Imphal East district.
Tensions escalated as the personnel including the local police, the riot control force and the Assam Rifles lobbed tear gas shells and used lathi charge to disperse the crowd.
According to a senior police officer, the police have registered multiple cases and have arrested the miscreants.
The locals including the Meira Paibis had planned to storm police stations across Imphal Valley, which includes Bishnupur, Thoubal, Kakching, Imphal East and Imphal West, to force them into releasing the five arrested Meitei men, the officer said.
The Meira Paibis had called for a 48-hour bandh on 18 September and even threatened the police of inciting violence and disrupting law and order if their demand was not met.
Licila, one of the Meira Paibis, earlier told ThePrint, “Our demand is very simple: release our men. They are innocent.”
“Right now, we are doing a peaceful bandh, but if we are not heard, there will be a lot of violence. We will torch vehicles, police stations and more. They should not push us to the edge,” she added.
Speaking to ThePrint, the senior police officer said, “Today several groups of people gathered outside police stations in the valley to protest, but they were forcefully dispersed. The police had to use lathi charge and tear gas as the crowd was violent. They vandalised property and also attempted to set afire houses of inspectors who are incharge of police stations.”
The officer added that several miscreants were identified who would be arrested in raids to follow.
The five men, who local residents want released, were taken into police custody on 16 September. After their arrest, an armed mob stormed the Porompat police station in Imphal East, where the men were detained, demanding that they be released. A crowd again flocked outside the police station the next day, demanding for the release of the men. They even threatened the police that failure to do so would result in Imphal “going up in flames”.
Manipur has been caught in a cycle of ethnic violence since 3 May. Since then, more than 200 people have been killed, over 1,200 left grievously injured and over 50,000 forced to abandon their homes.
Amid such large-scale violence and registration of over 6,500 cases, only 280 arrests have been made. Investigations in most cases have made no headway, hampered by the resistance and aggressive local opposition from the locals, exacerbating the already precarious situation.
According to the police, it was difficult to arrest the accused and produce them in courts. Both in the valley and hill regions, community-led armed crowds often intervene during arrests, compelling the police to release detainees. In some instances, these mobs even appear outside courtrooms or judges’ residences during the accused’s appearances, the police had said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)