New Delhi: A team of the Manipur Police which was sent to destroy illegal opium cultivation in the hills of Kangpokpi district was stopped by “80-90 armed miscreants” and it was pushed back without being able to clear the illegal farms, a cop has said in an FIR, as per an NDTV report. There were 25 personnel in the team, as well as volunteers from the Liangmai Naga tribe and five drivers.
The police team had only three assault rifles, as it is physically demanding and challenging to destroy poppy farms using agricultural tools while also holding AK-type weapons, a source with firsthand knowledge of the incident told NDTV.
According to the sources, holding a weapon and also destroying poppy efficiently in such a sensitive area is difficult. He added that the authorities should have deployed other forces along with the cops. The source added that the police team were forced to retreat when the armed miscreants tried to snatch the few guns the team were carrying.
Area was remote, reinforcements would have taken time
As per the FIR, the area was remote and the reinforcements would taken a long time to arrive, and hence, a decision was made to prioritise the safety of the joint team.
Even though there is no official confirmation, there are murmurs within the security establishment in Manipur about a major operation by central forces aimed at clearing newly established illegal opium poppy farms. Sources suggest that these forces will respond with force if any armed miscreants tries to obstruct the anti-poppy cultivation efforts or open fire on them.
In their demand for a separate administration carved out from Manipur, the Kuki tribes often include Kangpokpi district in various unrecognised hand-drawn maps that make rounds on social media.
Kangpokpi is also the bastion of the insurgent group Kuki National Front (KNF), led by ST Thangboi Kipgen. This group is one of over two dozen Kuki-Zo militant organisations that have signed the controversial Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact, which the Manipur government has called to scrap. The most recent renewal deadline for the SoO agreement was in February of this year.
Civil society groups that represent the Meitei community have alleged that the Kuki insurgent groups were involved in the increasing illegal cultivation of opium poppy in areas they dominate.
On November 18, the Kangpokpi police chief in a message directed officers in charge of Kangpokpi and G Saparmeina police stations to destroy the illegal opium poppy farms in Makhan hill range, police sources were quoted as saying by NDTV. The area of operation is located within the jurisdiction of the police in G Saparmeina, around 35 km north of Imphal.
They threatened to even kill the team members
The FIR said that the team proceeded by foot for around three hours and just as it was about to reach the spot, some unknown armed miscreants numbering around 80-90 people stopped the team. The unknown miscreants had guns, dagger and wooden cubs with them and they threatened to even kill the team members if they advanced further for destroying the illegal poppy plantations.
The FIR added, “Considering the isolation of the location for reinforcement to reach in time and the number of miscreants with weapons and the safety and security of the life of the [poppy] destruction team, the joint team returned without destroying the illicit poppy plantations at 3 pm.”
