Five police personnel were suspended by the Manipur Police in connection to the incident where two women were stripped and paraded naked by a mob on May 4 this year. According to officials, immediately after the video of the incident surfaced on July 19, Manipur police decided to suspend the station in-charge of Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district and four other police personnel.
The action was taken promptly and has not been reversed despite daily protests by some sections of people from the majority community for their reinstatement, they said. The state police has also ordered a time-bound inquiry under an Inspector General of Police to probe events leading to the looting of an armoury on August 3 in Bishnupur, officials said.
The officials in the know of developments said that every effort was being made by the Manipur Police to end the cycle of violence in the state which began on May 3 between the majority Meitei and tribal Kuki community.
An officer of the rank of Inspector General is heading the inquiry which will be completed within six weeks, the officials said. They said that the police had been working relentlessly to ensure that the breakdown in law and order was addressed on an urgent basis.
Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has sent 10 more companies of the paramilitary forces—CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB—to Manipur amid fresh bout of violence in the northeast state. According to reports, around 900 security personnel arrived in Imphal on Saturday night and are being deployed in several districts.
Around 300 people have been arrested so far in various cases. There have been many zero FIRs registered during the ethnic clashes and every claim has to be cross-checked, they said.
The officials said that a time-bound inquiry has been instituted in connection with the recent looting of arms and around 19,000 bullets from the headquarters of the 2nd India Reserve Battalion (IRB) located at Naranseina in Bishnupur district.
Highlighting the ‘proactive’ approach of Manipur Police, the officials said that as many as 30 people were arrested after an attack on an Inspector General rank officer outside the airport last month. Nine people including five Meira Paibis (Women torch bearers) were arrested in connection with the brutal killing of a Naga Maring lady on July 15.
