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New Delhi: The combing operations launched by security personnel in various parts of Manipur on October 10 has led to the recovery of not just weapons looted by civilians from police stations and armouries, but also gear resembling military outfits, officials said, a development that underscores a growing problem for security agencies in the northeastern state torn by ethnic strife since May 3.
A joint team of Manipur Police and security forces have recovered at least 80 bullet proof vests, around a 100 fake military uniforms, military boots, 11 walkie talkies, three radio sets and tear gas shells in the last 12 days during searches across villages in both the hill and valley districts, a Manipur Police officer said on condition of anonymity.The operations are set to continue until all weapons are recovered, officials said.
Three unregistered Maruti Gypsy vehicles, which militants had painted in camouflage to pass it off as belonging to the Assam Rifles and Manipur Police commandos, were also seized during the searches, the officer added.
“Over 5,000 houses in different villages in both the hill and valley districts were searched as part of the operation.
The raids were conducted in the early hours, between 2am and 6am. The recovery of fake military uniforms, bullet proof vests, wireless sets and walkie talkies show how civilians were posing as security personnel during the ethnic clashes,” the officer said.
India’s central agencies have in the past informed the Manipur Police that militants are arranging for police commando uniforms and could use them to fuel violence through a coordinated attack.
The tribal Kukis mostly reside in the hill districts and the majority Meiteis are the dominant community in the Imphal valley — both sides have clashed since May 3, leading to the deaths of at least 178 people. Around 50,000 people have been displaced in the clashes. No major incident of violence has been reported in the state since October 12.
An advisory by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which was shared with top security officials in the state, said that it was reliably learnt that a tailor in Bishnupur district’s Moirang town was contracted to stitch 500 Manipur Police commando uniforms by June 15, according to officials aware of the matter.
Earlier, on September 8, dozens of armed men wearing black commando outfits were among those in a large mob that fired at villagers in Pallel in Tenugoupal district bordering Kakching, officials said. Three people were killed and over 50 others, including an Indian Army Major, were injured.
According to a second police officer, eight bullet proof jackets and 13 pairs of fake police uniforms were recovered from one of the three unregistered vehicles seized during the raids. This vehicle was found in a village Lamshang, Imphal West, on October 13, the officer said on condition of anonymity.
During various instances of violence, the second officer said, the militants pasted police/army stickers, used sirens and beacons on the vehicles to pass it off as ones used by the armed forces. “Police are trying to ascertain the identity of the car owner,” the officer said.
“During the clashes, many such vehicles were brought to Manipur from the adjoining states. In several cases, such as the incident on September 12 in which three men were shot dead in Kangpokpi’s Ireng village, eyewitnesses confirmed that the militants were moving in the area in a Maruti Gypsy car which appeared to be like those used by the security forces.
Some witnesses who had seen the assailants in the early hours before the attack assumed that the armed men were from the security forces. Wearing bullet proof vests or stocking them in the cars to perfectly pass off as security forces, militants have adopted the modus operandi of posing as security forces,” the officer added.
In a letter to the superintendent of police of Churachandpur, one of the worst-affected areas, on September 18, the Assam Rifles shared inputs of militants converting civilian vehicles to pass off as those belonging to the forces. The letter, seen by HT, said the “conversion of civil vehicles to lookalikes of Assam Rifles” was done to tarnish the name of the Assam Rifles and use the cars for anti-national activities. The Assam Rifles also said the militants had acquired Tata 407 pick-up trucks from the civil market for the purpose.
The crackdown began after a five-day window given to civilians to return looted arms and ammunition ended on October 10. According to the second officer, until Saturday night, 89 guns, including high grade weapons such as AK 47 (three rifles), MP5, SLRs 30 mortars (including country made ones) and over 2,500 rounds of ammunition were recovered by the forces. Of the 2500 rounds of ammunition , nearly 900 pieces of ammunition were recovered from a militant on Friday.
Most of these weapons were found buried in fields and forests and abandoned houses of the displaced civilians, the officer said.
“People are careful not to keep the arms and ammunition hidden inside their house. For now, the main task is to recover the weapons. There is a separate probe to identify the people behind it,” the officer said.
(With inputs from Utpal Parashar in Guwahati)
Prawesh Lama covers crime, policing, and issues of security in Delhi. Raised in Darjeeling, educated in Mumbai, he also looks at special features on social welfare in the National Capital.
In Manipur, fake military gear adds to security woes – Hindustan Times
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