There has been non-stop conflict between the forces and insurgent groups, the MLAs wrote to PM.
The growing mistrust among communities in conflict-hit Manipur is drawn the having security forces into its ambit. In a fresh twist, 40 Manipur MLAs submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The memorandum said the Assam Rifles personnel deployed in the state should be withdrawn and some "trustworthy" Central forces brought in.
The memorandum comes a day before PM Modi is expected to reply to the No-Confidence motion moved by the Opposition. The Opposition, which has been demanding that he speak on the situation in Manipur, is hoping that his speech will contain references to the ground situation in the northeastern state.
Sources in Union Home Ministry attributed the current situation in Manipur to the unaccounted weapons floating around. "Despite all efforts, not many those that were looted have been returned," a senior official said.
The Meitei MLAs also highlighted that till complete disarmament is not carried out, law and order will not be restored in the state. "For the immediate establishment of security, simple deployment of forces is inadequate. To achieve goal of complete disarmament, forces need to adopt a more active role," read the memorandum submitted by MLAs.
The memorandum said there has been a non-stop conflict between the State/Central forces and insurgent armed groups in the state for the last three months. "Largescale foreign infiltration is taking place. Central forces should proactively engage with them and the source and funding of these sophisticated arms and ammunition should be investigated," the letter read.
Pointing out how public resentment is building towards Assam Rifles, the MLAs said there have been numerous instances of farmers going out to work their fields and getting fired upon by armed rebels.
"The weapons used by the militants are sophisticated military grade arms, which include assault, sniper rifles and Rocket-Propelled Grenades. In many cases, these firing incidents have occurred in the presence of Central Security Forces which have failed to react appropriately, or react at all. This has led to a loss of faith in these forces and the build-up of public resentment," the memorandum read.
The Assam Rifles, the MLAs wrote, need to be transferred from their present location, while trustworthy Central forces along with state security can replace them.
The growing mistrust between forces is also evident from the videos that are being widely circulated.
After one such video surfaced, the Manipur Police registered an FIR on Monday against the Assam Rifles. In the video, the state police could be seen arguing with Assam Rifles and accusing them of protecting one side.
After the FIR was lodged, the Army issued a statement saying misunderstandings are bound to happen during operations but they can be addressed through joint mechanism.