Manipur violence: Tribal forum urges SC for protection by Indian Army as state police force not trusted by them

New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI): The Manipur Tribal Forum has informed the Supreme Court that the Centre and State governments’ assurances to the apex court in the case concerning the recent outbreak of violence in Manipur are false and non-serious and it shall not rely on the “empty assurances” of governments.

The application asked for the protection of the tribe by the Indian Army saying the State and its Police force are not trusted by the tribe.

It sought “Directions to be passed to the Indian Army to take full control of the law and order and public order situation in the districts of Churachanpur, Chandel, Kangpokpi, Imphal East, and Imphal West.”

The forum expressed no confidence in the commission of inquiry constituted by the Centre under the head of former Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Ajai Lamba and urged that it be quashed and replaced by a single-member commission comprising former Delhi High Court Chief Justice and Law Commission chairperson, AP Shah.

It sought the constitution of an SIT headed by former Assam police chief Harekrishna Deka and an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 crore to the kin of each of those killed within three months. The application also demanded a permanent government job for a member of the families of those who are deceased.

The top court seized the cases relating to the violence in Manipur and sought status reports from the Centre and State on the relief and rehabilitation efforts for the people affected by the violence between Meitei and Kuki communities.

Earlier, the top court expressed concern over the loss of lives and properties in Manipur during the violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities and stressed taking adequate measures to restore normalcy there.

On March 27, the High Court directed the State to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list.

The violence in Manipur between the Hindu Meiteis and the tribal Kuki, who are Christians, erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3.

Violence has gripped the entire State for over a month now and the Central government had to deploy paramilitary forces to bring the situation under control.