"If CRPF Was Not Deployed...": Manipur Chief Minister To NDTV On Jiribam "Terror Attack"

The Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) timely intervention during a "terror attack" in Manipur's Jiribam district prevented the loss of several lives, Chief Minister N Biren Singh told NDTV on Thursday.

Mr Singh said "10 Kuki terrorists" tried to enter a relief camp in Jiribam's Borobekra where 115 internally displaced people were living, but the CRPF foiled their plan. All the 10 were shot dead in a gunfight with the central forces on November 11 in Borobekra, a village on the interstate border with Assam. One CRPF soldier was injured.

"If the CRPF was not deployed, the lives of many civilians would have been lost. The Kuki terrorists came with rocket launchers, AK 47, and many sophisticated weapons. They attacked the (police) camp, and killed two people on the spot," Mr Singh told NDTV.

"They were trying to enter Borobekra relief camp where 115 Meitei civilians were living. But due to the timely intervention by the CRPF, the lives were saved. Otherwise that scenario could have been different. It's very unfortunate that eight innocent people were killed. The two died in the attack, and six including three small children were kidnapped and mercilessly killed. It is an intolerable crime," the Chief Minister said.

Civil society groups and leaders of the Kuki tribes have claimed the 10 men were "village volunteers". The police have, however, called them "militants" and showed assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher as recovered from them. A bullet-ridden vehicle of the security forces was shown as one of the targets of the "militants".

At least two dozen suspected Kuki militants had split into two groups before launching the attack in Borobekra, police sources had told NDTV. While one group took six Meitei hostages, the other group of 10 men vandalised and set fire to houses, and killed two senior citizens from the Meitei community. These 10 were later shot dead in the encounter with the CRPF, police sources have said.

The six hostages were from the same family - a woman, her infant child, her two-year-old son, her mother, her sister and her sister's daughter - all were killed in captivity by suspected Kuki militants. Their bodies were dumped into a river. Days before the Borobekra attack, a mother of three from the Hmar tribe was allegedly raped and killed by suspected Meitei militants during a night attack on a village in Jiribam.

Mr Singh said the Manipur cabinet's resolution was placed "after a lot of thought", adding the Centre sent more forces to catch the "militants". "You can't deal with Kuki militants without the forces. The operations have already started. This was the demand," he added.

The Manipur cabinet has sought to declare the militants involved in the Jiribam terror attack of taking hostages and killing them as an unlawful organisation, or a terror group. He expressed confidence that the Centre would look into the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA, by keeping in mind the "pulse of the people of Manipur" and will surely do something about it.

The AFSPA, which gives sweeping powers to the security forces to operate in "disturbed areas" without fear of court proceedings, was reimposed in six police station areas of Manipur's valley region.

Protests had also broken out in the valley areas when the partially decomposed bodies of the six hostages were found. The Chief Minister told NDTV that vandalism that happened during the protests was carried out by vested interests and rivals.

"The people came out to protest in shock after hearing about the killings of the six innocent women and children. They were simply rallying and appealing to the government and MLAs, not involved in the violence. The arsonists stole many things from the houses they targeted. It was not the public. They were peacefully protesting, rallying. The troublemakers were the defeated group, politically desperate group, politically motivated gang, who looted and attacked homes. No one from the public attacked the MLAs' houses. The public was in the bazaar, protesting," Mr Singh said in the state capital Imphal.

The Chief Minister said that in one MLA's house, some 600 people came and spoke to him, and after agreeing to their demands of bringing justice in the Jiribam terror attack case, the group of people left.

"Another group of 200 or so people came. These were the ones who created trouble. We have identified them. There is video evidence. Most wore masks, but we know them. They have stolen gold, cash, even eight paddy bags from an MLA's house. What's all this?" Mr Singh said.

On the much controversial War on Drugs campaign, the Chief Minister said at least 500 acres of poppy cultivation has been detected in Kangpokpi district, which sprang up fast as the security forces are tied up with other priority tasks.

"Due to the present crisis, security has been tied up in some areas and cannot go out. Taking advantage of this, six villages in Kangpokpi are cultivating a huge amount of illegal poppy. Earlier, the forces used to go in the morning and evening to destroy illegal poppy cultivation. At least 500 acres are being cultivated," Mr Singh told NDTV.

"We have asked the Chief Secretary to send forces to destroy the poppy farms in Kangpokpi before they can be harvested. They want to destroy the youth of Manipur by making them addicted to drugs, they want to harm India. They are using many strategies to invade India," he said.

The Kuki tribes have often criticised Mr Singh for allegedly singling out the community and branding them as a people who encourage drug trafficking, even though many members of other communities have been arrested in narcotics cases.

To bring peace in Manipur, Mr Singh said, the Centre had called both sides and started talks. "From the state government's side, we sent MLAs, leaders to Guwahati, Kolkata, Delhi for talks. Political dialogue, negotiations, interactions, these are the things that will help bring peace," he said.

He faulted the media for allegedly not reporting the whole picture from Manipur, where he said trouble is confined to two-three districts, and not the entire state where people from different communities are living together in peace.

"Differences between communities have been there for a long time. After my government came, I launched the go-to-hills campaign, go-to-village, meet with people from different communities, bring them together, we honoured every community, and constructed a museum of everyone's culture and traditions," the Chief Minister said.

"The Sangai ethnic park has the model of houses of every tribe to show oneness... we are all proud Indians, we are all proud Manipuris, and almost succeeded except for the present scenario with this one community. But other communities are living together. Go to Imphal and see. There are churches, temples, masjids. Trouble is happening only in one-two districts, not the whole Manipur. The national media needs to be aware of all this," he said.

When violence broke out in May 2023, temples were razed and set on fire in many hill areas, while churches in the valley areas also suffered the same fate.

To a question about the National People's Party (NPP) withdrawing support to his government, Mr Singh told NDTV he is not worried.

"The Congress has only five leaders. They won only five seats after 15 years... There's nothing to worry about. Whether the NPP withdraws or not, there is enough of a majority. Those who want to give an excuse at a time when the state is going through hardships, let them be. For example, if a lifeguard runs away when an incident is about to happen, let him run away. I am here to save everyone," he said.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis - a term given by the British in colonial times - who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar's Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.