In a strongly worded response after the Manipur Police filed an FIR against Assam Rifles, the Army has said that it is a "fabricated attempt to malign the image of Assam Rifles."
The FIR was filed on August 5 when police alleged that the Assam Rifles blocked police vehicles on the Kwakta Gothol road in Bishnupur district. As per news agency PTI, the FIR claimed the Assam Rifles stopped its personnel from proceeding when “the state police was proceeding Pholjang Road along Kwakta as follow up action to conduct search operations in an arms act case in search of Kuki militants.”
In a statement titled, "Continue to be fair to all & fear none," the Army’s Spear Corps posted on X, formerly Twitter, "Some inimical elements have made desperate, repeated, and failed attempts to question the role, intent, and integrity of the central security forces, especially Assam Rifles, working relentlessly towards saving lives and restoration of peace in Manipur from May 3 onwards. It needs to be understood that due to the complex nature of the situation on the ground in Manipur, occasional differences at the tactical level do occur between various security forces."
Assam Rifles is a central paramilitary force under the Home Ministry but acts under the operational control of the Indian Army.
The memorandum said, “Since Day 1 of the violence on May 3, Assam Rifles has failed to maintain neutrality so as to restore peace in the state".
Last month, a group of 31 MLAs proposed to the Union Home Minister to replace the ninth Assam Rifles, the 22nd
Assam Rifles and the 37th Assam Rifles with central security forces.
So far, over 150 people have been killed due to ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kukis in the state.
