The Indian Army has said “some inimical elements have made desperate, repeated and failed attempts to question the role, intent and integrity” of the central security forces, especially the Assam Rifles, working relentlessly towards saving lives and restoring peace in Manipur.

The uncommon statement was posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday night
and followed what appeared to be a concerted campaign by the Manipur police, the ruling BJP and mostly Meitei women protesters against the Assam Rifles that has gained the trust of the Kuki-Zo people.

The Assam Rifles is a paramilitary force commanded by officers of the Indian Army.

Trinamul Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar tweeted: “What on earth is going on in the Narendra Modi government? (Defence minister) Rajnath Singh’s Army Headquarters condemns the attempt to malign Assam Rifles for saving victims of majoritarian Manipur government — which is directly under the control of Amit Shah.”

The Manipur police had lodged an FIR against some troops of the Assam Rifles, accusing them of blocking the way of police teams in pursuit of suspected Kuki militants involved in the killing of three Meitei men on Saturday morning at Kwatka in Bishnupur district.

The Meira Paibis (Meitei women torch-bearers) and the Manipur BJP had demanded the removal of the Assam Rifles from Manipur for, among other reasons, allegedly favouring the Kukis in the ongoing conflict that has left at least 165 people dead and 60,000 displaced from both communities since May 3.

Without mentioning the BJP or the state police or the protesters, the Indian Army statement said two instances had emerged over the past 24 hours aimed at “maligning” the Assam Rifles.

“While in the first case, the Assam Rifles Battalion has acted strictly in accordance with the mandate of the Unified Headquarters of strict enforcement of Buffer Zone guidelines towards the aim of preventing violence between the two communities, the second case of Assam Rifles being moved out of an area is not even related to them. An Infantry Battalion of the Army is deployed in the area (ever since the crisis erupted in May) from where the narrative of Assam Rifles being moved out has been made,” the statement said.

The first instance alludes to the Kwakta incident, and the second one to an order issued by the Manipur police headquarters on August 7 to deploy the CRPF and the civil police in place of 9 Assam Rifles at a checkpoint at Moirang Lamkhai on the Kangvai-Bishnupur Road.

According to an earlier order issued on August 3, personnel of the Assam Rifles/army, state police and the CRPF were to be deployed at the proposed 24-hour checkpoint to “thwart the movement of armed miscreants and militants”.

The army said in the statement on Tuesday night: “It needs to be understood that due to the complex nature of the situation on the ground in Manipur, occasional differences at tactical level do occur between various security forces. However, all such misunderstandings at the functional level are immediately addressed through the joint mechanism to synergize the efforts for restoration of peace and normalcy in Manipur.”

The statement added: “The Indian Army and the Assam Rifles further assure the people of Manipur that we will continue to remain firm and resolute in our actions to prevent any attempt that could result in furthering violence in an already volatile atmosphere.”

On Wednesday, women leaders from the Committee on Mass Protest Against Assam Rifles called on governor Anusuiya Uikey and submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through her.

The memorandum demanded the “removal of Assam Rifles from the entire State of Manipur” and “action against central forces personnel who indulged in excessive atrocities towards Meira Paibis of Manipur”.

The Raj Bhavan said in a statement: “They (the committee) demanded deployment of state forces by imposing uniform laws of the land throughout the state of Manipur, especially to the affected areas such as Moreh, Churachandpur, Kangpokpi etc.”

A three-member delegation of the Meira Paibis had met the governor.