New Delhi: The additional superintendent of police (operations) posted in Manipur’s Imphal (West) was thrashed and abducted by “unknown armed miscreants” — suspected to be from the radical armed Metei group, Arambai Tenggol — from outside his home Tuesday evening, ThePrint has learnt.
An AK47 was snatched from an inspector-rank officer attached to the SP and his driver’s nose was also broken by the crowd, a police source said.
The officer, M. Amit, was, however, rescued by a police team led by senior officers in a two-hour-long operation, police sources said.
Manipur security adviser Kuldiep Singh IPS (retd), told ThePrint that the officer, who sustained injuries, has been rescued and a case has been registered in this regard.
“Armed miscreants attacked the house of the officer and abducted him. Soon after, a specialised police team led by senior officers swung into action and carried out raids across the district and managed to rescue him. The officer is injured but he is doing fine. We are carrying out raids to nab the accused involved,” Singh said.
According to a police source, the officer’s house was attacked and he was abducted to put pressure on the police to release a few armed members of the Arambai Tenggol who were arrested Tuesday morning.
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‘A chase, abduction’
According to the source, the Manipur Police had chased and arrested a few armed members of the Arambai Tenggol who had allegedly stolen private vehicles. Following their arrest, a group of Meira Paibis (Meitei women volunteers) blocked roads and carried out a protest outside the police station asking for their release, the source said.
Around 6:30 pm, scores of women gathered outside the house of the additional SP and attacked his house. Members of the Arambai Tenggol also came in cars and joined the women, the source said.
“The women were demanding the release of the Arambai Tenggol members. The Arambai Tenggol members also joined and attacked the additional SP’s home. His family was at home at that time and his father informed the officer about the attack. The moment he reached home, fearing for his family, he was overpowered by the crowd,” the source said.
“The officer was thrashed, bundled up in a car and taken away. Even his commandos were overpowered by the crowd,” the source added.
A team of officers was then mobilised and the additional SP was rescued after a two-hour-long operation.
“He is doing fine. His statement will now be recorded,” the source said. “We are trying to ascertain the identity of the miscreants,” the source said.
What is Arambai Tenggol?
The radical armed Meitei group, Arambai Tenggol, faces many allegations of violence, looting and arson attacks on churches amid the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur involving the Meiteis and the tribal Kukis.
According to sources, the Arambai Tenggol was founded in 2020 as a cultural body, but soon transformed into a radical armed outfit.
The group had also summoned MLAs for a meeting at Kangla Fort on 24 January. As many as 37 of Manipur’s MLAs and two of the state’s MPs — one from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha — had answered the group’s “summons” for the meeting, where they took an oath to “protect the integrity of the state”.
At the meeting, more than three MLAs, including two from the ruling BJP, were allegedly beaten up, abused and compelled to take an oath that spoke about updating the base year of the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur to 1951, and abrogating the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki insurgents, within 15 days.
According to a source in the security establishment, this event bolstered the popularity of the armed group, which is now being lauded by the people as one that resisted the forces, stood its ground and compelled the government to accede to their demands, the source said.
Backed by widespread support and wielding influence over government and police decisions, the group is “effectively calling the shots in Imphal”, a source had told ThePrint.
According to the source, the group has now acquired a position of unparalleled prominence in Manipur. So much so that it is widely referred to as a “parallel government” in Manipur, as public disenchantment with the actual administration — and its failure to stop the ongoing ethnic violence — surges.
The ongoing violence in Manipur began last May as decades of ethnic tensions peaked with the Meiteis’ demand to be categorised as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) to access reservation benefits they claimed were being cornered by the Kukis.
The Kukis saw this as an assault on their rights, saying the Meiteis anyway dominated government jobs and positions of power. The wave of violence unleashed since has claimed over 200 lives, displaced thousands, and even sparked fears of ethnic cleansing.
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