Assam Rifles registers case against influential civil society group in Imphal

Assam Rifles registers case of sedition, defamation against Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity for call to not surrender weapons; FIR registered at Churachandpur police station; COCOMI had demanded Assam Rifles be replaced with other police force; criminal case registered against Imphal-based politician for alleging Assam Rifles protecting Kuki terrorists.

The Assam Rifles has registered a case of sedition and defamation against the chief of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an influential civil society group in Imphal.

A defence source said that a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against COCOMI on July 10, after the outfit gave a call to people “not to surrender weapons.”

After ethnic violence erupted in the State on May 3, more than 4,000 weapons and lakhs of ammunition were either robbed or taken away from police armouries. Despite an appeal made by Home Minister Amit Shah when he visited the State from May 29 to June 1, only a little over 1,600 weapons have been recovered by the police or surrendered by the public. A large number of arms that are still with the public have become a cause of concern for security forces.

The FIR has been registered against Jitendra Ningomba, convener of COCOMI, at the Churachandpur police station, under Section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), pertaining to sedition; Section 153 A IPC, promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony; Section 500 IPC, punishment for defamation; and Section 505 IPC for offence in any place of worship. Mr. Ningomba said that he was not aware about the case. 

COCOMI has alleged that a large number of women protestors were assaulted by the Indian Army in the Moirang area of Bishnupur on June 30. The army has denied the allegation.

In a memorandum to the Home Minister on June 4, COCOMI demanded that the Assam Rifles be replaced with any other central armed police force, adding that local youths were not willing to surrender arms amid attacks by “Kuki terrorists.”

After a Naga woman was shot dead in Imphal East on July 15, COCOMI owned up moral responsibility and signed a tripartite memorandum with the United Naga Council and N. Geoffrey, secretary to Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. The agreement said that the State government would pay a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, and the outfit would ensure that no such untoward incident or harassment is meted out to any community in future.