Police warn against misusing uniform
Source: Chronicle News Service

New Delhi/Imphal, September 19 2023: In the wake of arrest of five persons for extortion including a suspected member of a banned group, Manipur Police has again warned of stern action against all those who were misusing uniform for their ulterior motives.

The five persons were allegedly indulging in extortion from the general public and were carrying deadly weapons including AK and Insas rifles, which were looted from the police armoury, officials said.

Following increasing instances of certain people taking advantage of the conflict situation and donning uniform's of Manipur Police and Special Commandos to make extortion demands, the state police launched a crackdown on such activities and nabbed several people wearing commando uniforms with weapons on September 16, claimed additional secretary (home) M Pradeep during a press meet held at the Manipur Police Headquarters here on Tuesday.

He said that the Manipur Police has been taking up stringent measures to control the conflict in the state.

Amidst this, there are increasing reports of some people wearing uniforms of special commandos to carry out extortion activities, abduction and other crimes, within the past month.

So far, nine cases have been reported from Imphal East, five from Imphal West, three from Thoubal, seven from Bishnupur and one from Kakching.

Based on the reports, the state police increased checkpoints at key spots in both the hill and the valley areas for carrying out checking-frisking operations.

As part of these measures, five people were arrested with weapons during a checking of a car at the checkpoint set up in Kongba area on September 16 night, he informed.

Stating that the police are trying their level best to put an end to such activities and allay the concerns of the people, Pradeep appealed to the people to extend their cooperation in this regard and to inform the police in case of any suspicion.

The additional secretary then stated that as part of the security measures, joint teams of Manipur Police and CAPF have been carrying out joint inspection SoO camps in hill areas from time to time and checking the SoO cadres and weapons.

He said that the Manipur Police has been taking up steps to restore peace and prevent any unwanted incidents in the state, and appealed to the people to extend their support to the same.

He further appealed to all concerned to first verify any fake news circulating on social media with the authority concerned.

2MR CO Victoria Yengkhom, who also attended the press meet, informed that combined teams of Manipur Police, Assam Rifles and CAPF are continuously conducting inspection of the SoO camps in hill areas, and as such, appealed to the people to support the security measures taken up by the state police.

The police had in July issued stern warning asking people to stop misusing police uniform following reports that armed rioters were wearing the outfit to create mistrust.

Manipur Police has circulated throughout all formations to ensure that its uniform is not misused and instructed them to intensify vigil and take strict action against the offenders.

(With inputs from PTI) .

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