The army has accused women protesters in strife-torn Manipur of “deliberately” interfering during operations by security forces, prompting a leading activist hailing from the state to say that casting “aspersions” on the “brave mothers” was “not right”.

The army had tweeted the allegations along with a 2.14-minute video on Monday night titled “Demystifying myth of peaceful blockade led by women in Manipur”.

The tweet said: “Women activists in #Manipur are deliberately blocking routes and interfering in Operations of Security Forces. Such unwarranted interference is detrimental to the timely response by Security Forces during critical situations to save lives and property.”

It added: “Indian Army appeals to all sections of population to support our endeavours in restoring peace. Help us to Help Manipur.”

The development follows the army’s revelation on Saturday that it had to “hand over” 12 militants, including one accused of masterminding the massacre of 18 soldiers in 2015, to a “local leader” following a prolonged standoff with a mob of around 1,200-1,500 led by women at a village in Imphal East district.

The army video accompanying Monday’s tweet showed, among others, the standoff between the security forces and women protesters at Itham village on June 24 that subsequently led to the handing over of the 12 militants belonging to the Meitei militant outfit Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup.

The army had described the move by the operational commander to let go of the militants as a “mature decision” to avoid any “collateral damage during the ongoing unrest in Manipur”, which has claimed at least 131 lives and displaced 60,000 from boththe Meitei and Kuki communities.

The video referred to three incidents involving security forces and women protesters that took place on June 13, 23 and 24 in Imphal East district with texts accompanying the video saying, among others, that women protesters hadallegedly helped rioters fleein vehicles and even ambulances.

In the video, the army also claimed that the women protesters were interfering during operations both during the day and at night, blocking the movement of logistics and had helped dig up the entry/exit route to an Assam Rifles base to cause delay.

The army said in the video: “Blocking the movement of security forces is not only unlawful but also detrimental to their efforts towards restoring law and order…. The Indian Army appeals to all sections of society to cooperate with the security forces working day and night to bring peace and stability in Manipur.”

A leading activist from the state, Binalakshmi Nepram, said targeting the women protesters was not right.

In a tweet late on Monday night, she said: “Mothers of #Manipur have always maintained peace in the state for a long time. They too have lost their children/want the war to end — to target them here on @Twitter not right. Rather have courage & work with ‘mothers of both communities’ to bring peace.”

The Centre has deployed around 36,000 army and central paramilitary forces to deal with the current volatile situation in Manipur. However, stray incidents of violence have been continuing.