NEW DELHI: As reports of sporadic violence trickles out from Manipur state, one of the recurring problems has emerged to be locals’ distrust of security forces and law enforcement officers.
The Imphal Free Press has reported that 2,000 locals of Pangei village, mostly comprising females, refused entry to the Central Bureau of Investigation team which had arrived to probe the loot of a large cache of weapons from the Manipur Police Training College’s armoury on Thursday. Heingang Police Station had registered a case to recover the arms stolen from Pangei.
The CBI team left the area after finding it impossible to enter the main gate of the college where the women were staging a sit-in, Indian media reported.
Stolen arms and ammunition continue to create a threat to peace in the state which has witnessed brutal ethnic violence since 3 May. Almost a hundred people have died, and thousands of housed have been destroyed. Nearly 50,000 people have been displaced also.
Meanwhile, the Manipur government, which is being criticized over its alleged inability to stop the violence, has invoked a rarely used Reserve Bank of India (RBI) provision that allows the rescheduling and restructuring of loans. It also permits a moratorium to be placed on existing loans in the light of the visible pause on financial activity.
Manipur government cites reasons for decision
The Manipur government has cited the violence and riots of the recent past to invoke a clause that provides financial relief to borrowers. This clause has so far only been raised in areas hit by natural disasters.
There is a continuous curfew across the state and internet continues to remain blocked, despite a high court order for partial lifting of the restriction in some places.
