The Centre has re-imposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Manipur’s six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam.  An area or district is notified as “disturbed” under AFSPA to facilitate the operations of the armed forces.

The AFSPA gives Armed Forces operating in disturbed areas  powers to search, arrest and open fire if they deem it necessary for the “maintenance of public order”. In a notification, the Union Home Ministry said the decision was taken given the continuous volatile situation there due to the ongoing ethnic violence.

The police station areas where AFSPA has been reimposed are Sekmai and Lamsang in Imphal West district, Lamlai in Imphal East district, Jiribam in Jiribam district, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi and Moirang in Bishnupur.

The fresh order came after the Manipur government imposed AFSPA in the entire state on October 1, barring 19 police station areas that include these six. The police stations excluded from the Manipur government’s October 1 order were Imphal, Lamphal, City, Singjamei, Sekmai, Lamsang, Patsoi, Wangoi, Porompat, Heingang, Lamlai, Irilbung, Leimakhong, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Nambol, Moirang, Kakching, Jiribam.

Eleven suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces on Monday after insurgents in camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at a police station and an adjacent Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Manipur’s Jiribam district.  A day later, six civilians, including women and children were abducted by armed militants from the same district.

The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes in Imphal Valley and the adjoining hills, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year.

The disturbed area declaration was in force in the entire Manipur (except the Imphal municipality area) from 2004 till early 2022.

In April 2022, the Manipur government issued a notification where it said the disturbed area tag will no longer be applicable in seven police station areas of Imphal West district, four police station areas under Imphal East district and one police station area each in the districts of Thoubal, Bishnupur, Kakching and Jiribam. There are 16 districts in Manipur.

Meanwhile, Manipur Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Sharda Devi on Thursday called for the immediate release of the three women and three children allegedly abducted by militants in Jiribam district. She termed the alleged abduction of six members of a family

from Borobekra and Jakuradhor in Jiribam as “unfortunate” and demanded their release on humanitarian grounds.

“We demand the immediate release of the abducted six members of a family without any harm on humanitarian grounds. We from BJP appeal to them (armed miscreants) for their release”, Sharda Devi told reporters at the BJP office in Imphal.

“We strongly condemn the violence on common people by armed miscreants. The violence which had renewed once again recently has left us devastated. The abduction of six members of a family is unfortunate. We met Governor (Lakshman Prasad Acharaya) in Assam who in front of us instructed officials to take actions against miscreants who are responsible for violence”, she added.

Normal life was affected in Manipur’s Imphal Valley on Wednesday due to a total shutdown called by 13 civil rights organisations to protest the alleged abduction of three women and three children by militants in Jiribam district.

Police said purported photographs of the six missing persons in captivity of militants doing the rounds on social media could not be confirmed and the rescue operations were on to trace them. School and college students across the Imphal valley formed multiple human chains outside their respective educational institutions to protest against the alleged abduction of three women and three children by armed tribal militants in Jiribam district.

Holding black flags and wearing black badges, the students raised slogans demanding immediate safe release of the six and called for action by the central and state governments.

Organised by COCOMI Students Front, an organisation of the Meitei community, they carried placards with “Today is children’s day, release the innocent children” and “Release our friends” written on them. More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.