No takers for Moreh cops' distress call
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: June 14, 2025 -

MOREH is probably the only place in Kuki dominated area where there is still presence of the Meetei community, albeit in the form of security personnel.

After vociferous protests by the Kuki civil organisations and public figures against the deployment of Meetei personnel of police commandos in Moreh town, irrespective of the fact that the police are neutral force and have personnel drawn from different communities, the commando unit defied relentless attempts, including attacks carried out by heavily armed Kuki militants in the first few weeks after outbreak of the Kuki-Meetei conflict in May 2023.

Regardless of the series of attacks claiming the lives of at-least three police personnel including the Moreh SDPO, the commando personnel continue to stand their ground, ensuring that militant outfits do not dictate terms in the strategically important border town.

Interestingly, for reasons best known to them, the central forces stationed in the town did not intervened even when gunfights between the Kuki militants and the police commandos continued for hours and in broad daylight in the middle of the town.

Central forces' inertia in the Moreh incidents is one of the reasons why the Meetei civil organisations have not only been raising suspicion over sincerity and commitment of the central forces in aiding the state administration resolve the crisis but also alleging them oftaking side with the Kuki community vis-a-vis the conflict.

Notably, other similar instances of the central forces feigning ignorance when various Meetei villages in the fringe areas came under attack deepened the suspicion about possible involvement of the central government in fanning the crisis.

Amid allegations of callousness on the part of the centre in addressing the core problem afflicting Manipur, the border town seems to be facing another serious and distressful situation if report about Meetei personnel of Moreh police station leaving their place of posting without official consent is taken into account.

In the latest development, citing prolonged negligence by the state government, three Meetei police personnel, including two of assistant sub-inspector rank abandoned the police station.

Though all three have been rounded up from in and around the border town and handed over to custody of Moreh police station, peculiarity of the trio's act underscores apathy of the present regime in complying with the contextual policy of rotational transfer and posting.

The President's Rule administration might be engrossed in other more pressing issues gripping the state, but there is no valid reason why the circumstance-induced transfer and posting policy should be brushed aside.

As had been reported, Moreh PS used to have around 40-45 Meetei personnel but the number dropped significantly after the conflict broke out on May 3, 2023 as personnel of the post were either gradually transferred or the in-service personnel did not report for duty at the PS even after completion of their leave period.

Regardless of the special policy emphasising on transfer/posting every three months, non-despatch of replacement for the three Meetei personnel for nearly six months in-spite of repeated reminders to the police higher-ups implies that the police authorities do not accord importance to wellbeing of the men in uniform working at the ground level.