Some central forces to be withdrawn from Manipur for Lok Sabha polls

Quite disappointing

Some central forces to be withdrawn from Manipur for Lok Sabha polls

Amid protests against the proposed move of the government to withdraw Central troops from certain areas of conflict-ridden Manipur, some forces are to be pulled out for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

On Thursday evening, Kuldiep Singh, Security Advisor, Manipur government, called on Governor Anusuiya Uikey and briefed her about the state’s prevailing law and order situation.

A statement from the Governor’s secretariat said Kuldiep Singh while briefing about the law and order situation informed Governor Uikey about the deployment of Central forces along the fringe areas with mixed populations to prevent any untoward incident. Singh also informed Governor Uikey that some forces have to be withdrawn for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections for some time but are likely to return after the election process is over and redeployment will take place, said the statement.

“Central forces are being engaged in guarding state armouries and also escorting vehicles along the two national highways, i.e., NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur road) and NH-37(Imphal-Jiribam road),” read the statement.

It added that the Manipur Governor asked the security advisor to take all possible measures to check for any untoward incident and the safety and security of the people in general.

In the aftermath of the ongoing ethnic violence that broke out on May 3 last year, the Manipur Government has deployed a large number of Indian Army, Central paramilitary forces, and state police personnel at numerous vulnerable areas, mostly foothills across the restive state to thwart the eruption of clashes.

Manipur has witnessed sporadic protests, mostly by women, in peripheral areas of the valley districts denouncing the government’s proposed withdrawal of the Army and Central paramilitary forces from the areas. The protesters have said that the strife is not over and that they would be in danger if the security forces were pulled out. They have also sought the cancellation of the withdrawal orders. In some areas, the villagers demanded sending in new forces of their choice before the old troops were pulled out.

 

Express News Service – 2024-05-17 12:38

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