AFSPA reimposed in Jiribam, 5 other parts of strife-hit Manipur

The Centre has reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Manipur’s six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam where 10 suspected militants were shot dead in an encounter with the security forces earlier this week.

In a notification issued today, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the decision was taken “to carry out well-coordinated operations by the security forces for maintaining security and containing the activities of insurgent groups in these areas”.

The areas where the AFSPA has been reimposed are Sekmai and Lamsang in Imphal West district, Lamlai in Imphal East district, Jiribam in Jiribam district, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi and Moirang in Bishnupur.

Tribal woman tortured: Autopsy

• The 31-year-old tribal woman killed in violence-hit Jiribam district on Nov 7 was subjected to third-degree torture and had suffered 99% burns, says autopsy report. Some body parts & limbs were missing and viscera couldn’t be collected as body was charred
• “Right upper limb, parts of both lower limbs and facial structure found missing,” it stated, adding brain tissue was found wrapped in a plastic tissue that was liquefied and decomposed. The mother of 3 was found dead at her home after an attack by militants

The fresh order came just weeks after the Manipur Government imposed the AFSPA in the entire state, barring 19 police station areas that include the six districts mentioned above, on October 1.

The AFSPA gives sweeping powers to the military to operate freely in any area that has been declared “disturbed”. No military personnel can be prosecuted without the Centre’s permission in an area where the AFSPA is in force.

The reimposition of the AFSPA will allow the security forces to freely engage with armed groups that have not signed any ceasefire deal with the government.

The 19 police station areas excluded from the Manipur Government’s October 1 order on the imposition of the AFSPA were Imphal, Lamphal, City, Singjamei, Sekmai, Lamsang, Patsoi, Wangoi, Porompat, Heingang, Lamlai, Irilbung, Leimakhong, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Nambol, Moirang, Kakching and Jiribam.

The MHA order came just days after 10 suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with the security forces on November 11. The militants, in camouflage uniform and armed with sophisticated weapons, had fired indiscriminately at a police station and an adjacent CRPF camp in Jiribam district.

A day later, six civilians, including women and children, were abducted by armed militants from the same district. Yesterday, the Centre had rushed 20 additional companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to Manipur in the wake of the encounter. Now, there are 218 CAPF companies in the insurgency-hit state.

Over 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes in the Imphal Valley and the adjoining hills, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year. Meanwhile, Manipur BJP president Sharda Devi today called for the immediate release of the three women and three children allegedly abducted by militants in Jiribam district.

The police said purported photographs of the six missing persons in the captivity of militants doing the rounds on social media could not be confirmed and the rescue operations were on to trace them.

The Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee, a tribal advocacy group, today demanded a probe into the killing of a Hmar tribal woman, who was allegedly raped, shot and burnt to death on November 7. They also sought the arrest of “Meitei terrorists” who, the group alleged, were behind the woman’s murder.

It also sought compensation for the families of the 10 suspected militants who were killed in the November 11 encounter and also sought permanent removal of CRPF personnel from the Kuki-dominated areas of the state.