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An Indian investigation agency has arrested a person for alleged conspiracy to fuel more violence in Manipur.
Indian National Investigation Agency NIA arrested Thongminthang Haokip on Thursday over a plot to incite violence & bloodshed in Manipur. People were arrested under sections of Indian Penal Code as well as Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, subsequently.
In its report, the NIA said the conspiracy can traced back to Kuki insurgent groups such as Kuki National Front (KNF). The KNF operates from Manipur and Myanmar and has the objective to “make use of the prevailing ethno–political violence in the region and launch warfare against the government of India through aggressiveness in actions. ” The NIA has said that the arrested person was involved in the aforementioned conspiracy and he had indulged in extempore armed assaults on security forces besides, collecting weapons and ammunitions for the purpose.
The NIA also said that independently it is still conducting the investigation into the conspiracy as well as the companies that were implicated.
The violence that has been that has been witnessed in Manipur stems from a long-standing ethnic strife between the Meitei and the Kuki tribes of the state. The majority of Manipuri population belongs to Meitei community; over 50% of the population is Hindu by religion. The highest density of tribes is that of the Kuki community, which follows the Christianity-oriented religion. The Kuki as a super ethnic group, which originated from the present day Myanmar, migrated to Manipur some few centuries ago.
The conflict emerged into an open fight in the beginning of May the next year when the Meiteis’ claimed ST status for themselves which means that they will be eligible for quota system in government employment. Since the Kuki has already been treated under ST, they felt that this would only serve to further demean them. It then showed its ugly head via riots, rape including multiples, and the complete shutting down of the internet by the government.
