Imphal, Dec 17 Security was tightened in the fringe areas of Manipur’s Bishnupur district on Wednesday with the deployment of additional forces, a day after unidentified attackers opened fire, escalating fresh tensions in the restive state, officials said.
A Police official said that on Tuesday night, several rounds were fired by the unidentified attackers near the Torbung and Phougakchao Ikhai areas of Meitei people-dominated Bishnupur district, which borders the tribal inhabited Churachandpur district. However, there were no reports of injuries in the incident.
A huge contingent of security forces, led by senior officials, rushed to the area and launched a search operation to nab the suspected militants involved in the firing.
The fresh firing near the foothills triggered panic among residents. The incident occurred a day after, around 390 people, displaced by the ethnic clashes, returned to their homes in Phougakchao Ikhai and some other areas, the official added.
During the search operations in the areas by the BSF and the CRPF, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), three country-made Pumpi guns and a Pumpi gun were detected and recovered. All necessary safety measures were instituted to prevent civilian movement and to ensure full security of the location.
Meanwhile, many displaced people, particularly women and children, who had returned to their homes in the vicinity of Phougakchao Ikhai after more than two years, once again took refuge elsewhere in view of Tuesday's firing, the police official said.
The Tuesday night firing incident took place hours after Director General of Police Rajiv Singh visited Churachandpur district, and held a meeting with senior officers.
During the visit, the DGP inaugurated the conference room of the office of the Superintendent of Police, Churachandpur. The police chief chaired a comprehensive security review meeting with officers of Manipur Police and other security forces deployed in the district to assess the prevailing security situation and review preparedness.
The DGP also held interactions with representatives of various Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) of the district. Most political parties and civil society organisations of Manipur on Wednesday condemned Tuesday’s firing by unidentified attackers in peripheral areas of Bishnupur district, while markets and business establishments remained closed at some places in protest against the violence.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of several Meitei civil society organisations, on Wednesday highlighted that such acts of violence directly contravene the Constitution of India, particularly the guarantee of Right to Life and Personal Liberty (Article 21) for all citizens and strike at the very foundation of constitutional governance and democratic order.
In a statement, the apex Meitei body said that violent intimidation undermines the rule of law, disrupts public order (Article 19), and imperils social harmony.
It said: “What exacerbates this grave situation is the public statement issued by Ginza Vualzong, a leader of the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), in which he allegedly justified and rationalised the attack, offered inflammatory allegations, made statements likely to provoke further unrest and incite violence.”
COCOMI views such public defence of armed violence as an affront to constitutional values and democratic norms.
“Statements (of KZC) that morally endorse terroristic acts threaten public safety, embolden armed actors, and may constitute criminal incitement and abetment under Indian law,” the COCOMI said.
--IANS
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