Service weapons in slain militants' hands
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: November 13, 2024 -

WITH the Meetei civilians forced to leave border town Moreh within days of the communal violence after their residential and commercial buildings were systematically targeted, torched and ransacked, it seems that the Kuki militants are now eyeing to take control of Jiribam district, another logistically important township, as could be comprehended from the relentless targeting of the Meetei population.

After dictating terms in Kuki populated areas along the National Highway-2, and taking full control of Moreh town, where administrative reach is notably negligible at the juncture, keeping Jiribam district under their grip appears to be the next objective so as exert pressure on the central government to accord importance to their demand for separate administration or creation of union territory with legislature.

Seemingly emboldened by their earlier acts of firing and bombing Meetei localities without much resistance from the security forces stationed in the fringe villages of the district, the Kuki militants must have miscalculated that the CRPF personnel wouldn't react, similar to some central paramilitary forces, who instead of protecting the vulnerable section of the population, ostensibly abetted displacement of citizens under the garb of evacuation to safer zones, as had been the case in Churachandpur and Moreh towns.

As the Meetei settlements in these townships were in densely populated areas and close to police stations and camps of central forces, prompt deployment of security in adequate strength could have averted the mass displacement and possibly prevented aggravation of the unprecedented situation.

As such, prioritising evacuation of the minority communities in the said towns rather than penalising the plunderers could be the primary factor for the unrest situation eluding solution.

On the other-hand, in pursuance of the deeper conspiracy to take complete control of another strategically important border district, Kuki militants undermined the deployment and presence of central forces and paid a heavy price on Monday after CRPF troopers gunned down at-least 10 armed Kuki individuals.

That decisive and appropriate action by security forces could deter miscreants from calling the shots has been showcased by the no-nonsense response of the CRPF troopers in Jiribam district.

The troopers might have returned fire after one of their colleagues suffered injuries in the attack by the Kuki militants, but the fact remains that the CRPF unit saved many civilian lives by neutralising sinister agenda of the perpetrators.

Another disturbing aspect of the Jiribam shootout was recovery of weapons, particularly SLRs and INSAS rifles, which are issued to government forces.

In the valley districts, there were instances of overwhelming number of Meetei youths looting service weapons of state forces due to involvement of armed Kuki militants in attacking Meetei villages in the fringe areas.

Search operations are being conducted almost every day since despatch of additional central forces by the Union government to contain the situation, and recover the looted weapons and assorted ammunition.

However, in the Kuki-dominated hills, official reports regarding looting of arms had been sketchy and recovery of firearms in operations limited to country-made guns and bombs.

As such, the recovery of four SLRs and two INSAS rifles, among other weapons, from the 10 slain militants, merits thorough investigation so as to ascertain whether these weapons, generally provided to government forces, were actually reported as looted from police armouries or security forces deployed in the Kuki-dominated hill districts have been sympathetic to cause of the so-called village volunteers.