Nothing confidential anymore
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: December 09, 2023 -

SURFACING of a confidential message sent to IG Assam Rifles (South), Mantripukhri/Commander, 27 Sector, HQ, Tuibong C/O SP (CCP) from the office of Director General of Police (DGP), Government of Manipur regarding the visit of a team of CBI officials for investigation of a case related to the ongoing violence here in the state on various social media platforms has raised some very disturbing questions that need to be answered by both the parties concerned.

Signed by Inspector General of Police (Ops) Dr IK Muivah, the confidential message with reference no A-4/4/23-IGP (Ops)/3084 Date: 07/12/2023 sent from the office of DGP, Manipur to the office of IC Assam Rifles (South), Mantripukhri/Com-mander, 27 Sector, HQ, Tuibong C/OSP (CCP) for "necessary action" conveyed that "A team of CBI officials will be visiting buffer zone in between Churachandpur and Bishnupur district border on 08/12/2023 for investigation of case. CRPF is providing security for the team".

However, within hours of dispatching the confidential message, the same got viral on social media platforms after it was first shared from the social media handles of "Nitin Thusoh (Daily News)," which is operated by some Kuki-Chin people.

Described itself as a "media/news company" with the motto "Inform to be alert", Nitin Thusoh has accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram, etc., in addition to a YouTube channel. Interestingly, unlike other Kuki-Chin people operated social media handles which have large followers and are very active in social media activism of posting and commenting to further the cause of Kuki-Chin people, this one does not have impressive number of followers on any of its accounts with the exception of its YouTube channel where most of the uploads are gospel songs and Bible readings.

In fact, the X account of Nitin Thusoh (Daily News) has more following than followers.

The point we are trying to drive home here is how come a confidential message sent from the office of Director General of Police (DGP), Government of Manipur to the office of IG Assam Rifles (South), Mantripukhri/Commander, 27 Sector, HQ, Tuibong C/O SP (CCP) landed into the hands of Kuki-Chin people operating such social media handies like the "Nitin Thusoh (Daily News)".

Sending of a confidential message is a two-way communication with no room for a third party to access.

So, the leak of this private and sensitive information about the visit of an official team of CBI to the buffer zone in between Churachandpur and Bishnupur district border for investigation in connection with the violent ethnic conflict that has been going on between the Meitei/Meetei and Kuki-Chin people since May 3 last to the social media handles operated by Kuki-Chin people could be possible if only one of the two primary parties involved in the two-way communication committed a breach.

With the Government of Manipur and its Police Department having nothing to gain from leaking a confidential message it sent out in the first place, the needle of suspicion irrefutably points to the other side on the two-way communication channel, which interestingly happens to be the Assam Rifles.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, there have been allegations of Assam Rifles personnel deployed in the state for aiding the state police in maintaining law and order siding with the Kuki-Chin community and showing soft towards the armed Kuki-Chin militants, even to the extent of preventing the state police from engaging with these armed aggressors.

Although these allegations have been denied time and again through numerous rebuttals issued either from the side of PIB (Defence Wing) or the PRO IGAR (South), it would be very interesting to wait and see what the authority of India's oldest paramilitary force will have to say on its latest interpretation of the state police's request for taking up "necessary action" for the visit of an official team of CBI as leaking out the sensitive and confidential information to people it endears the most.