New Delhi: The Indian Army has announced that it has “released” a dozen militants it had captured in Manipur’s Itham village, after 1,200-1,500 people led a standoff against it demanding that they be handed over.
The civilians who participated in the standoff were mainly women, the Army said.
The Spear Corps of the Indian Army, who have been tweeting updates as violence roils Manipur, have called the gathering of people an “aggressive mob”.
The Army noted that acting on specific intelligence, an operation was launched in Itham in Imphal East district by Security Forces on the morning of June 24. A cordon was laid and specific search operations began.
“In the ensuing operation, 12 KYKL cadres were apprehended along with arms, ammunition and war-like stores,” the Army tweeted.
The KYKL or Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup is a Meitei separatist group.
The Army said it identified Lt Col Moirangthem Tamba alias Uttam amongst the 12 apprehended cadres.
Uttam was the alleged mastermind of the 6 DOGRA ambush case of 2015.
The Army said:
Mob of approximately 1200- 1500 led by women & the local leader immediately surrounded the target area and prevented Security Forces from going ahead with the operation. Repeated appeals to the aggresive mob to let the Security Forces carry on with operation as per law did not yield any positive result.
Keeping in view the sensitivity of use of kinetic force against large irate mob led by women and likely casualties due to such action, considered decision was taken to hand over all 12 cadres to local leader. Own Columns lifted the cordon and left the area with weapons and War Like Stores recovered from insurgents.
The Army has claimed that the decision was a “mature” one and “shows [the] humane face of the Indian Army.”
‘Modi constantly monitoring’
Meanwhile, at an all-party meeting held on June 24, Union home minister Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been “constantly monitoring the Manipur situation since day one and “guiding us with full sensitivity”, according to the news agency PTI.
Modi’s silence on the issue has been the subject of intense criticism, in India and in the US where he went on a state visit.
PTI reported that Shah cited the fact that not a single person had died in Manipur since June 13 as an example of the fact that Manipur was slowly “returning to normal.”
The Hindu has additionally reported that Shah noted that imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur “was not an option”.
The Congress has meanwhile called the meeting an “eye wash” and noted how the Congress’s representative Okram Ibobi Singh who is the senior most leader from Manipur and three-time elected chief minister, was not allowed to present his points.
The all-party meeting organised by the Home Minister today was just an eye-wash and a formality.
As the principal Opposition party, our representative the senior most leader from Manipur, 3-time elected CM Okram Ibobi Singh, was not allowed to present his points representing… pic.twitter.com/XMjfWXYHBa
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 24, 2023