Manipur: CRPF officers tasked to oversee security forces, RAF deployment

New Delhi: At least five Deputy Inspector General (DIG) rank officers and seven senior superintendent of police (SSP) and SP rank officers of the CRPF have been tasked to coordinate deployment of various security forces in violence-hit Manipur, official sources said.

The Centre has rushed in about 20 fresh companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including the CRPF and the BSF, in the wake of the spiralling violence between tribals and the majority Meitei community leading to displacement of more than 9,000 people from their villages.

The induction of the CAPF units apart from that of the Army columns and the Assam Rifles is going on.

For this task, a total of five Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) DIG rank officers and seven other commanders in the rank of Commandant (SSP rank) and second-in-command (SP rank) have been placed at the disposal of the Additional Director General (ADG) of the north east zone of the CRPF based in Guwahati and the Inspector General of the Manipur and Nagaland located in Imphal, a senior officer told PTI.

Some of these senior officers are being rushed in from Delhi and Ranchi, he said.

A DIG of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the communication wing of the CRPF have also been sent to Manipur to specifically oversee the deployment of the anti-riot units, the officer said.

The deputy inspectors general (DIG) will be functioning at the existing CRPF stations in Manipur at Churachandpur, Imphal East and Imphal West while the Commandants will be based at Bishnupur, Kangpokpi and Tamenglong.

They will coordinate and work in tandem with the state police, administration authorities and the newly-appointed security advisor Kuldiep Singh, who retired as the director general of the CRPF and NIA. Singh is a 1986-batch IPS officer from the West Bengal cadre.

Fifteen fresh CAPF companies have been airlifted through IAF planes to Imphal while few more have been asked to be in readiness, an another officer said.

Gunfights have been reported between security forces and hill-based militants in various parts of the state, they said.

An official said members of the Kuki community have appealed to the state government machinery to ensure that CAPF and Army units are immediately sent to villages as many locals have taken shelter in nearby jungles after their houses were burnt.

The violence between majority Meiteis and tribals over demand of the former for ST status has displaced over 9,000 people from both communities.