AFSPA extended in Manipur hills for 6 months; Valley areas kept out

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act or AFSPA was extended by another six months in Manipur on Wednesday barring 19 police stations falling under the Imphal valley and an area that shares its boundary with neighbouring AssamAn official notification said the state government is of the opinion after analysing the prevailing lawandorder situation that it is not expedient to have a detailed assessment on the ground as security agencies are preoccupied with the maintenance of law and orderNow therefore in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of Armed Forces Special Powers Act the Governor of Manipur hereby declare the entire state of Manipur excluding the areas falling under the jurisdiction of 19 police stationsas disturbed Area for a period of six months with effect from October 1 2023 the notification saidThe police station areas where the Disturbed Areas Act has not been imposed are Imphal Lamphel City Singjamei Sekmai Lamsang Pastol Wangoi Porompat Heingagng Lamlai Iribung Leimakhong Thoubal Bishnupur Nambol Moirang Kakchin and JirbamSignificantly the areas that have been kept out of the purview of AFSPA are dominated by the majority Meitei community which includes Jiribam adjacent to Silchar Valley of AssamWith the extension of AFSPA the Army and Assam Rifles cannot operate inside the areas under the 19 police stations without the consent of the state policeSecurity officials have been advocating bringing the entire state under AFSPA so that they could easily ensure that the presence of terror groups within the valley is reduced or eliminated sources saidThe security agencies have been warning that banned terror groups United National Liberation Front UNLF and Peoples Liberation Army PLA Kanglei Yawol Kanba Lup KYKL Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak PREPAK and KCP have been forming their base in the Imphal valley of the stateThey have also been warning about the possibility of these terrorists mingling with crowds during any protest to stoke tensions in restive Manipur the sources saidThey said at present UNLF has a cadre strength of 330 followed by PLA with 300 and KYKL with 25 who were active within the groups of the majority communityThe overwhelming support being extended to cadres of these banned organisations was witnessed on June 24 when Army and Assam Rifles based on specific intelligence nabbed 12 members of KYKL in East Imphal including selfstyled Lt Colonel Moirangthem Tamba alias Uttam Uttam was one of the masterminds of the ambush on 6 Dogra regiment in 2015 that left 18 army soldiers deadThe officials said there were apprehensions that the arms and ammunition looted from the Manipur Police armoury could have landed with these terror groupsAmong the arms looted included 303 rifles Medium Machine Guns MMG and AK assault rifles carbines Insas Light Machine Guns LMG Insas rifles M16 and MP5 riflesThe officials said around 4537 arms and 632 lakh rounds of ammunition were missing mainly from Manipur Police Training Centre MTPC at Pangei in East Imphal 7th India Reserve battalion and 8th Manipur Rifles both located at Khabeisoi in Imphal cityThe extension of the AFSPA in the hill areas was of least significance as more than 20 terror groups from the tribal areas had entered into an agreement Suspension of Operations SoO with the Centre and the state governmentMore than 180 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 when a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei communitys demand for Scheduled Tribe statusMeiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipurs population and live mostly in the Imphal valley while tribals including Nagas and Kukis constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districtsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever