All 10 Kuki MLAs accuse police of molesting women

NT Correspondent

Imphal: All 10 Kuki members of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, eight of whom belong to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, have made allegations against the state police accusing them of mistreating women and assaulting individuals from their community.

These accusations came in the wake of the killing of Manipur Police's Sub Divisional Police Officer, Chingtham Anand, who was shot dead by suspected Kuki militants in Moreh, a town bordering Myanmar.

The police have initiated an operation to locate and apprehend the individuals responsible for the officer's death. In their official statement, the MLAs expressed their condolences for the officer's demise but also aimed to draw attention to the "unprofessional behavior and inhumane acts" committed by the Manipur Police, particularly the commandos.

They alleged that these actions were directed at Kuki-Zomi-Hmar civilians in Tengnoupal District, especially in Moreh. The statement accused the commandos of damaging houses, properties, and vehicles belonging to residents of Sinam Kuki village in Tengnoupal on the preceding Wednesday.

"In the operations in Moreh, the state forces were reported to have engaged in arson, indiscriminate gunfire, looting of civilian properties, vehicles, household belongings, including items like ornaments, documents, gold, cash, and unprovoked acts of brutality, which compelled people, including women and children, to seek refuge in the nearby forest," the statement mentioned.