Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh on Saturday said the 24-hour ultimatum served on the superintendent of police and deputy commissioner of Churachandpur district by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) would “not be taken lightly”.
In his first reaction to the mob trouble in Churachandpur town on Thursday night, Singh told the media in Imphal that the government “will not turn a blind eye to these threats”.
“We have already lodged an FIR against the ITLF. They cannot threaten our SPs and DCs or any official performing their duties to protect the life and property of the state. The government and all right-thinking persons of the state and the country are with the SP and the DC of Churachandpur,” Singh said.
The chief minister said the loss of lives in the arson in Churachandpur and during the attempt to snatch weapons at the Manipur PoliceTraining College, Pangei, and 5th IRB, Chingarel, on Tuesday was unfortunate and the government condemned the incidents in the strongest terms.
Two persons were killed in the arson in Churachandpur on Thursday and over 30 were injured when the mob attacked the SP and DC offices housed in the same compound. At least 12 vehicles were also torched or damaged.
The ITLF is an influential conglomerate of recognised Kuki-Zo tribes in Churachandpur, formed in the wake of the ongoing conflict in Manipur. After an emergency meeting on Friday, the ITLF set a 24-hour deadline for the DC and SP to leave the Churachandpur district as they were “entirely responsible” for people hitting the streets in protest against the “unjust” suspension of a Kuki-Zo police constable.
"If the suspension of the head constable is not cancelled within 24 hours and if the SP and DC do not leave the district within 24 hours, all government offices shall be closed. Both the SP and DC will bear the responsibility for any untoward incidents that may fall on them,” the ITLF said.
They demanded that the two officials be replaced by officials from the Union Territory cadres, preferably from the Kuki-Zo community.
Singh said magisterial inquiries would be conducted into the two incidents — Churachandpur arson and MPTC case.
