Women-led mob forces Army to release 12 insurgents nabbed in Manipur village

New Delhi, June 25

After a standoff between a mob led by women and security forces that had cordoned off Itham village in Manipur’s Imphal East district, where a dozen members of militant group KYKL were hiding, the Army, deciding not to risk civilian lives, left with seized weapons and ammunition, officials said today.

The Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), a Meitei militant group, was involved in a number of attacks, including the ambush of a 6 Dogra unit in 2015, they said.

The standoff in Itham went on throughout Saturday, and ended after a “mature decision by the operational commander keeping in view the sensitivity of use of kinetic force against large irate mob led by women and likely casualties due to such action,” a security official said.

Among those holed up in the village was self-styled Lt Col Moirangthem Tamba, alias Uttam, a wanted terrorist who may have been the mastermind of the Dogra ambush tragedy, the officials said.

A 1,500-strong mob led by women surrounded the Army column, and prevented the forces from taking away the militants, who had been apprehended, they said. “Repeated appeals to the aggressive mob to let the security forces carry on with the operation as per law did not yield any positive result,” the official said. The decision to leave was taken keeping in mind the need to avoid any collateral damage during the ongoing unrest in the state, he added. Nearly 120 persons have lost their lives and over 3,000 injured in the ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the state since May 3.

Didn’t want to risk civilian lives: Army

• 1,500-strong mob surrounds Army men, stops them from taking away militants
• Repeated appeals to aggressive mob fail to yield any positive result
• Army decides to leave without ultras to avoid risking civilian lives, say officials

Manipur CM Biren Singh meets home minister

• Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah
• He briefed Shah about the evolving situation in the ethnic violence-hit state
• The development comes a day after an all-party meeting on the Manipur crisis