Let’s together press Centre for Manipur: Biren to people

Imphal: Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh has appealed the people of the state to together press the Centre to bring peace in the state.

Biren made his appeal amid the heightening chaos resulting out of Kuki-Zo attacks in the state.

He was talking to reporters at his secretariat here, on Tuesday.

He said majority of demands made by the state government to the Centre have been fulfilled, including the handover of the Jiribam case to the NIA.

He also urged the public to press the Centre to repeal AFSPA, 1958, which has been reimposed in areas under six police stations.

The Army act was lifted from valley areas including these reimposed areas during Okram Ibobi’s  Congress government.

“The ongoing crisis is not an ordinary one but is instigated by external forces, as revealed by the NIA and the Union Home Minister. It was launched with calculated strategies,” Biren said.

The NIA has re-registered three separate cases related to the Jiribam incidents, including the killing of a 31-year-old Hmar woman on November 7, the killing of six individuals (three women, two minors, and an eight-month-old infant), and the killing of two individuals in separate incidents. Mass combing operations have been launched to apprehend the culprits involved in these incidents, he added.

“Culprits involved in the killing of six individuals in Jiribam have been identified. For security reasons and as the case is under investigation, it is premature to reveal the details.”

Regarding the declaration of the perpetrators as ‘terrorists,’ Biren said the NIA has begun its investigation, and the public must wait for the findings.

On the disappearance of a person in the Leimakhong area, Biren said search operations are ongoing by combined forces. A zero-FIR has been registered at Sekmai police station based on a complaint filed by the family of the missing man.

He appealed not to launch any sort of agitation which could affect education sectors and government offices.

“All those displaced outside the state are welcome to return to Manipur if they meet the 1961 base year criteria. To this end, the Manipur government has initiated biometric scanning to deport individuals who do not fulfill the 1961 base year requirement,” the chief minister said.