Kuki Groups Allege Excesses By Manipur Cops In Border Town Moreh, Request Assurances

Days after 10 MLAs of the Chin-Kuki-Zo tribes raised concerns over alleged excesses of the Manipur Police in the border town Moreh, hill-based civil society organisations have said their representatives met the Assam Rifles to discuss how to address their concerns.

Kuki civil society organisation sources said their representatives met the Assam Rifles Inspector General in Moreh last week and agreed on several points to ensure Moreh residents are not harassed by the state forces, following the killing of a Manipur Police officer on October 31 by a suspected insurgent sniper.

The Kuki groups in a statement said some key points agreed at the meeting included ensuring police commandos remained in their barracks, and all existing outposts are removed except for the one at the State Bank of India in Moreh.

The 10 MLAs, who in May led the call for a separate administration for the Kuki tribes in Manipur, last week in statement said they condoled the death of senior police officer Chingtham Anand in the sniper attack while he was overseeing the construction of a helipad in Moreh.

The MLAs, however, said they "would like to highlight the continuing excesses and atrocities perpetrated by the state forces against our people in Moreh and other places in Tengnoupal district based on ground reports."

Other key points agreed at the meeting with the Assam Rifles and the Kuki groups are: women representatives of the area concerned to accompany central paramilitary forces and the police doing joint operations, and police commandos who were allegedly involved in looting and damaging empty homes and livestock should be punished. The Kuki groups alleged some policemen assaulted girls and women.

Manipur Police sources have refuted the allegations. They said some elements in Moreh do not want the state forces to come to the border town, which has earned a reputation as one of the biggest hubs of drug trafficking in the northeast.

Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur following a protest by the hill-majority Kuki tribes against the valley-majority Meiteis' demand for Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.