Keeping flock together on Manipur DGP's priority list

Soon after taking over the mantle of the police chief of restive Manipur last month, Rajiv Singh had his task cut out - ensuring return of normalcy to the state and also keeping his flock together and instilling confidence among the personnel.

Though there is no official word on the issue, sources said the 45,000-strong Manipur Police was vertically split after the ethnic clashes, with Meitei personnel in the force moving to Imphal valley for safety and the Kuki personnel escaping to the hills.

The state has been on the boil since May 3 following violent clashes between members of the Meitei and Kuki communities.

Singh, a 1993 batch IPS officer of neighbouring Tripura cadre, was brought in to head Manipur Police, which was accused of mishandling the situation in the ongoing clashes. Singh was on deputation to the CRPF before being appointed police chief.

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Immediately after taking over, Singh, who had served in Tripura, found that nearly 1,200 personnel were missing from duty, officials said.

His first task was identifying these people and completing the formalities of their "joining back duty" wherever they were comfortable.

Though Singh was unavailable for comments, officials privy to the developments said nearly 1,150 personnel have reported back to duty.

Singh's second task was to adjust 304 freshly-recruited constables, awaiting their passing out parade before the clashes occurred. The new recruits comprised youth from Manipur, including the two warring factions.

The police chief thought of a novel idea to sort out this issue. Technology was used by converting a passing-out parade to a passing-out ceremony where the youth from Meitei and Kuki communities took the customary oath over a video conference.

An Inspector General-rank officer chaired the ceremony and immediately after that, the constables were put to their respective duties in the areas where they had taken shelter, the officials said.

To deal with incidents of police personnel allegedly allowing rioters to loot their arms and ammunition, the top brass sent a stern message to all the formations to ensure strict vigil and not let such things recur, they said.

The results could be visible on the ground when an attempt by hundreds of rioters to storm the camp of the 3rd IRB in the Khangabok area in Thoubal district to loot arms and ammunition was foiled by the security forces earlier this week.

The officials, while pointing out the incident, said that the mob later set on fire the house of one of the jawans who was posted at the IRB camp and was instrumental in preventing the loot.

"The irony is that police constables are from the same society, and everyone fears the backlash," said a senior officer on condition of anonymity.

Nowadays, effective 'nakas' (checkpoints) are being erected by Manipur Police, and usual detentions for violating rules, including movement during curfew, are enforced, besides providing security to farmers from both the communities at the foothills.

A joint team of police and security forces conducted search operations in vulnerable and fringe areas in both hill and valley districts. It destroyed 24 bunkers used by armed miscreants in Imphal East, Kangpokpi, and Imphal West districts.

Now searches are also being conducted as a part of the effort to restore peace and normalcy by Manipur Police and central forces, and the exercise has yielded results in certain areas where arms and ammunition have been recovered, officials said.

To check the movement of miscreants and unwanted elements, the security forces installed 125 checkpoints in different places of Manipur, both in the hill and the valley, during which 352 people were detained in connection with violations.