Manipur police convoy headed to Moreh after cop’s murder ambushed by suspected Kuki insurgents

Incident took place near Senam village in Tengnoupal around 4 pm. Family of police officer shot dead earlier in the day has refused to accept his body. Joint action committee formed.

The body of Chingtham Anand Kumar at a hospital in Imphal | Image by Donald Sairem

KARISHMA HASNAT and DONALD SAIREM, The Print, 31 October, 2023, Imphal/Guwahati: Suspected Kuki insurgents allegedly ambushed a Manipur police convoy on its way to Moreh in Tengnoupal district hours after a police officer was shot dead in the border town Tuesday, ThePrint has learnt.

The incident took place near Senam village in Tengnoupal around 4 pm, security sources confirmed. No fatalities have been reported and the injured have been to the nearby hospital. Troops of Assam Rifles and Border Security Force deployed in the area have rushed to carry out rescue operations.

Tuesday’s events shattered the brief lull in Manipur’s months-long destructive unrest. The situation in Moreh and adjoining areas remained tense even though the state government rushed additional forces to the area after sub-divisional police officer Chingtham Anand Kumar was ambushed and killed on duty.

Joint operations have been launched in Moreh and areas along the Indo-Myanmar border to trace the killers of the 50-year-old Manipuri officer.

The Biren Singh cabinet held an emergency meeting at the chief minister’s office Tuesday and directed central and state forces to continue the manhunt till the perpetrators were arrested.

Additional state and central security men have set forth from capital Imphal, and troops are being inducted by both road and air to conduct operations, defence sources told ThePrint. The security forces deployed in the area have also been asked to ensure free movement of transportation and general public along the Pallel-Moreh road on NH-102.

Senior police officer Chingtham Anand Kumar was killed in “unprovoked firing by armed Kuki militants while he was on duty overseeing the cleaning of the grounds of Eastern Shine School for construction of helipad, jointly by State force and BSF,” stated a government release issued after the cabinet meeting.

In the wake of Tuesday’s ambush, the cabinet declared the World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC), a private organisation of the Kuki-Zo community, an unlawful association under Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

An FIR had been registered against the organisation on Monday, the press statement issued by the chief minister’s secretariat mentioned. It further stated the WKZIC had issued a press release on 24 October, “calling upon the Kuki-Zo community to be prepared for another war in November, and before the harvesting season”.

The WKZIC release also asked people to “keep arms and ammunition in sufficient stock”, the government notification read. ThePrint has accessed a copy of the release, which was written in the local dialect.

The 24 October notice further said that youth volunteers would be the ones going to face the war on the frontlines, and that the “Kuki National Army (KNA) or armed groups will join them only in critical situations”, according to the government statement. The reason behind armed groups “not being able to join the war freely was in view of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement,” cited the WKZIC release.

Furthermore, the WKZIC notice mentioned that “its national volunteers shall be equipped with the best arms, and if required, ammunition will be supplied without limit”, the state government release highlighted.

Family members and JAC refuse to claim officer’s body

According to police sources, Chingtham Anand Kumar suffered a sniper hit in the back that ripped through his stomach. The body was taken to Imphal’s Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) morgue for postmortem.

A joint action committee (JAC) comprising residents of Chingtham Kumar’s locality, Haobam Marak Chingtham Leika, has been formed to demand timely action against the culprits.

They have also decided not to claim the body — as has the senior officer’s family — if their demands are not met, which include adequate state forces in Moreh by 5 November, and resettlement of the displaced Meitei people.

It also urged the government to ensure a suitable government job to the next of kin of the slain police officer before his funeral.

Condemning the ambush, the JAC further decided to boycott the post-harvest Kut festival of the tribal Chin-Kuki-Mizo people, which falls on Wednesday and also announced a statewide shutdown on that day.

A wreath-laying ceremony scheduled later Tuesday was called off by the slain officer’s family, who according to sources, are planning to meet Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Wednesday.

The cabinet condemned Tuesday’s incident, describing it a “dastardly act”, while also acknowledging that both sides of the ethnic conflict had been exercising restraint and peace for nearly two months now.

An ex-gratia of ₹50 lakh has been approved by the government as compensation to the next-of-kin of the deceased officer, considering it a case of “special duty in a special area”.

While the government has decided to fortify security in Moreh along the Indo-Myanmar border, it has also announced that “no illegal armed personnel shall be permitted in or around Moreh, considering the strategic position of the border town under India’s Act East Policy”, the notification read.

In the past few days, the state government had apprehended at least 11 Myanmar nationals from border town of Moreh, but none of them were armed, security sources said. A Kuki local, on the condition of anonymity, said the arrested individuals have “nothing to do with the Manipur conflict”.

‘Selective injustice’

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) also issued a press statement Tuesday evening, lashing out at the Manipur government’s “selective injustice”. The ITLF, which is a conglomerate of recognised tribes in Churachandpur emphasised the “divisive agenda” perpetuated by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and his cabinet.

Drawing comparison between the death of two state police officers, the ITLF said that the death of Onkhomang Haokip, sub-inspector in the Manipur Police, on 13 September failed to initiate a reaction from the Chief Minister while his response at Chingtham Anand Kumar’s death was “swift and telling”.

The ITLF further decried the cabinet order to deploy Manipur Police Commandos for joint operations in Moreh Town and adjacent areas.