Manipur CM chairs security review meeting after killings in Kangpokpi, Ukhrul
Manipur chief minister Yumnam Khemchand chaired a security review meeting on Saturday at the Cabinet Hall of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat in Babupara, Imphal, to review the current law and order situation in the state.The meeting was convened following incidents at Taphou Kuki village in Kangpokpi district and the ambush at New Heaven in Ukhrul district on Friday.During the meeting, the attendees decided that combing operations would continue to apprehend those involved in various crimes.
It was also decided that security personnel deployed at posts in different areas would strengthen security arrangements in their respective jurisdictions.The meeting also discussed measures to further strengthen security arrangements in vulnerable areas of the state.Home minister Govindas Konthoujam; chief secretary Rajeev Singh Thakur; security advisor Kuldiep Singh; DGP Mukesh Singh; ADGP (law and order); senior officers of the Assam Rifles, CRPF and BSF; other senior officers of central security agencies; and officials from the home department attended the meeting.Five people have been killed in two separate incidents in the state over the past two days.
On Thursday, a woman from the Kuki community was killed while working in a paddy field during an armed attack at Taphou Kuki village. The following day, suspected Kuki militants ambushed and killed four civilians from the Naga community at New Heaven village in Ukhrul district, along National Highway 202 (Imphal-Nagaland via Ukhrul).Meanwhile, the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), a Naga body, issued a “public ultimatum” to the state and central governments, giving them three days to drive out all “Kuki terrorist” from Naga areas.
The organisation also demanded that the case be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) within the deadline.In a statement, the TNL said: “This is the 4th such incident at the same location. The entire responsibility for failing to protect the lives of innocent civilians is solely fixed upon the State Government and the Central Government. We have lost complete faith in the central security forces.
Therefore, all the central security forces deployed therein must be immediately withdrawn.”The Naga body warned that failure to resolve the issue would lead to an indefinite agitation until justice was delivered.Separately, the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), a Kuki organisation, issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Manipur Police over what it described as “selective reporting and ethnic bias”.According to the KIM, the police described the killing of Kimneineng Chongloi, a 40-year-old Kuki woman, as a mere “firing incident” without identifying the perpetrators.
However, in a separate statement about an injured Tangkhul Naga civilian, the police explicitly identified the attackers as “suspected Kuki armed miscreants”.The KIM has demanded an internal investigation, a public explanation and corrective action from the police. It warned that failure to comply within 72 hours would lead it to pursue legal remedies and suspend cooperation with the Manipur Police in Kuki areas.
