The Centre on Tuesday directed the deployment of two additional CRPF battalions comprising around 2,000 personnel in Manipur amid a fresh wave of violence in the BJP-ruled state, sources in the Union home ministry said.

Former army chief General Ved Malik said the violence in Manipur called for the imposition of President’s Rule.

“The situation in Manipur requires President’s Rule and an effective Unified Command under the Governor,” Malik, who was the army chief during the 1999 Kargil War, posted on X.

At least eight people have died and over 12 injured in the latest violence between suspected Kuki militants and Meitei village volunteers against the backdrop of a week of unprecedented drone and rocket attacks in the strife-hit state. Ethnic violence in Manipur, which erupted in May last year, has left at least 234 killed and over 60,000 displaced.

“The two fresh battalions will be deployed in Kangvai (Churachandpur) while the second will be stationed around Imphal,” a ministry official said, adding that battalion number 58 is being moved from Warangal in Telangana while No. 112 is being sent from Latehar in Jharkhand.

Recently, two Assam Rifles battalions from Manipur were withdrawn for operational duties in Jammu and Kashmir and some other parts of the Northeast.

As many as 16 battalions of the CRPF are already present in the state since the violence erupted last year. There were about 10-11 CRPF battalions in Manipur before the violence broke out.

A CRPF battalion has an operational strength of about 1,000 personnel.

“The CRPF will have a lead role in Manipur as fresh units of the force have been rushed to the state since the violence broke out between the Meiteis and the Kukis last year in May. The deployment of the two additional battalions is meant to strengthen
the force,” the home ministry official said.

The two units have personnel who have undergone training in internal security duties. They will require logistical, housing, equipment and anti-drone technology support and that is being planned, the official said.

Sources said a joint team of officers drawn from the CRPF, the BSF and some independent technical experts would reach Manipur later this week to conduct an “analytical study” of the drones and improvised rockets that have been used to launch attacks in some regions of the state over the last few days.

The CRPF has been dealing with improvised Maoist-fired rockets called barrel grenade launchers in areas hit by Left-wing extremism.
They will study the rockets that are being used in Manipur. The BSF has a forensic lab to analyse drones coming in from the Pakistan border to states such as Punjab
and Rajasthan.

Currently, Manipur’s security adviser Kuldiep Singh is heading the Unified Command, which plans and executes steps to monitor the law-and-order situation and related issues in the state.

On Monday, thousands of students protested in front of the Manipur secretariat and the Raj Bhavan, demanding action against those behind the drone and missile attacks and calling for the protection of the state’s “territorial and administrative integrity”.

The protesters demanded the resignation of director-general of police (DGP) Rajiv Singh and Kuldiep Singh for their alleged failure to control the violence.