Representative image of a damaged house in Manipur.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Imphal: A group of irate women on Monday vandalised the residence of former additional SP Thounaojam Brinda at Yaiskul here for her alleged comments on the Manipur crisis.
Brinda was not at home when her house was attacked.
"Some furniture and glass panes of windows were damaged by members of Meira Paibis, a vigilante group, from Torbung in Bishnupur district. The women came to Brinda's residence demanding a clarification on her alleged remark that she had made regarding the violence at Torbung on May 3," an official said.
In an audio clip that had gone viral, Brinda had purportedly claimed that members of an Imphal-valley-based group had torched houses at Torbung on May 3, which triggered the violence in the state.
Security forces including personnel of the Rapid Action Force rushed to her house and brought the situation under control.
Brinda came to the limelight in connection with a high-profile drug haul she led in busting in June 2018, leading to the arrest of the then Chandel Autonomous District Council chairman and seven others.
She had unsuccessfully contested the state Assembly elections in 2022 on a JD(U) ticket.
A member of the Meira Paibis who came to the former police officer's house told reporters, "Thounaojam never visited Torbung on May 3 when violence broke out. In complete disregard for the sufferings and sentiments of the people who lost their homes and property."
The protestor alleged that an armed mob from Churachandpur district carried out the violence.
More than 180 people were killed since the violence erupted on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mainly in the hill districts.