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New Delhi: As Manipur remains on edge following last years ethnic clashes between the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zo communities, the state has seen a resurgence of extortion by armed men once rampant across Imphal valley, but which had shown a drop over the past few years following a decline in insurgency ThePrint has learnt...
This, as well as the increasing need for protection amid the violence, has prompted a surge in applications for arms licences among businessmen, government employees, contractors, and even farmers, among both Meitei and Pangals (Muslims), who live in the valley, intelligence sources told ThePrint...
According to the sources, several valley-based insurgent groups (VBIGs) and their volunteers are extorting money from valley residents on the pretext of protecting the community from Kuki militants.Their targets range from real estate entrepreneurs, school and hospital owners, hoteliers, and even small shopkeepers and restaurant owners, a source said.. Manipur is divided into hill and valley districts, with the former being largely inhabited by Kuki-Zo tribals and the latter by Meiteis..
This support has hindered Manipur Police and security forces from recovering looted weapons, impeding significant operations or raids to arrest individuals linked to multiple FIRs filed since the outbreak of the violence, the source claimed, adding that the channel that provided intelligence inputs has completely dried out...
Whatever minimal recovery is done by the police is with the help of surveillance and checks while most of the raids are not yielding results, the source said.. Nearly seven months have passed since 5,682 firearms were looted from police armouries and stations, primarily in the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley, but only 1,647 28.9 percent have been recovered, police data shows.. Likewise, only 22,368 of the 6.64 lakh ammunition taken then a mere 3.36 percent were traced, according to the data...
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