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Imphal The ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur that has roiled the northeastern state for the past seven months has deepened fault lines between Meitei and Kuki communities, dividing them geographically across the state. While no Meiteis live in hill districts such as Churachandpur anymore, Kukis from the valley have taken refuge in the hills.
However, a handful of Kuki bureaucrats, police officers and officials on central government services still reside in Checkon and New Checkon localities in the middle of Imphal, amid tight security. People familiar with the matter said these few Kuki officials are all from the community that are left in the city.
On the night of September 2, the last of the 10 Kuki families living in New Lambulane locality, adjoining Checkon, moved out of Imphal after police and intelligence officials noted a threat to their lives.
On Friday, HT visited the two most-guarded localities, less than 2km from the chief minister’s residence, in Imphal. A narrow lane right in front of the city convention centre has some of the houses of Kuki officials, guarded by a team of armed personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF). Standing close to the barricades, the BSF personnel ensure there are no gatherings nearby, amid reports of armed mobs setting the abandoned houses of Kuki families on fire.
Among the abandoned houses in the lane in Checkon, one is of Manipur’s former director general of police (DGP), P Doungel, who too has left Imphal. On the second day of ethnic clashes that started on May 3, Doungel’s house was vandalised by a mob. A prominent Kuki member, Doungel was the state’s police chief when the clashes broke out.
The IPS officer, who superannuated on June 30, now lives with his family outside Manipur, officials said.
At the Checkon tribal market, about 500 metres from the main gate outside the convention centre, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has set up a camp in an abandoned building. Armed CRPF personnel patrol the lanes round the clock.
A Meitei officer from a central force, seeking anonymity and requesting not to disclose the name of the force, said: “Different central forces are on duty here. There are houses of a Kuki IG and a DIG near the camp. We ensure there is no problem here. I may be a Meitei but I am a government officer first. I am here to do my duty, which I will do efficiently. Our job is to ensure that not only these officers but even their abandoned houses are not vandalised. Rioters have no identity.”
He said that even the officers who have been transferred out have their houses in the area. There is high alert round the clock in this locality, though violence has ebbed across the state.
And, this is not without a reason.
On August 26, unidentified rioters entered the New Checkon locality and set ablaze some of the abandoned Kuki houses. To be sure, a similar pattern by rioters was also observed in hill districts where abandoned houses of Meitei families were torched.
“While there are few officers working from Imphal, majority of Kuki officers have been working in a hybrid mode, from outside Imphal districts or nearby states, ever since the clashes broke out. They attend meetings, stay the night there (Checkon and New Checkon), and return immediately,” a senior police officer said, also declining to be named. “They do not visit any other place in Imphal because of the current situation. There is a lot of secrecy maintained about their travel dates.”
When Kuki officers from New Checkon travel to the police headquarters, they are escorted by security forces. Some Kuki officers have also moved out of the state and joining central deputation in Delhi.
In September, a senior IG-rank Kuki officer took a transfer from Manipur police to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
“An officer heading the police’s telecom department, who was earlier based in Imphal, is now working from Churachandpur. The same is the case for junior officers too. All Meiteis have been shifted to valley areas while all Kukis are now working in hill districts,” the senior police officer quoted above said. “But all this is a temporary arrangement.”
At least 181 people have been killed and around 50,000 displaced in Manipur since May 3, when the ethnic violence started in the northeastern state between Meitei and Kuki communities.
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.
Kuki officials stand ground in Meitei-dominated Imphal – Hindustan Times
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