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New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet against seven persons in connection with the loot of arms and ammunition from the 2nd Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) in Manipur on August 3 last year, people familiar with the development said on Sunday.
Those named in the charge sheet, filed in a court in Guwahati, include – Laishram Prem Singh, Khumukcham Dhiren alias Thapkpa, Moirangthem Anand Singh, Athokpam Kajit alias Kishorjit, Loukrakpam Michael Mangangcha alias Michael, Konthoujam Romojit Meitei alias Romojit and Keisham Johnson alias Johnson, said people mentioned above.
The premier anti-corruption agency had taken over the probe in the case on August 24, 2023, previously registered at Police Station Moirang, Bishnupur, by the local police.
A large number of armed miscreants and individuals had looted around 300 arms, around 19,800 ammunition and around 800 types of munitions and other accessories from two rooms of battalion headquarters in Kote inside Quarter Guard, 2nd IRB, Naranseina in Bishnupur.
The federal agency is probing around 27 cases related to Manipur ethnic clashes, including 19 cases related to violence against women.
As many as 219 persons have so far been killed in the ethnic clashes that have roiled Manipur since May 2023. Manipur governor Anusuiya Uikey said on Wednesday that the state could lose ₹800 crore as revenue in the backdrop of the violence that has uprooted thousands and disrupted life for over nine months.
Uikey said that to maintain law and order, 198 companies of central armed police forces (CAPFs) and 140 columns of army have been deployed in the state while 10,000 first information reports (FIR)have been registered, and 1,87,143 people have been detained.
Clashes first broke out on May 3 last year in Churachandpur town after tribal Kuki groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the majority Meitei community.
Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders. The authorities quickly clamped a curfew and suspended the internet, pumping in additional security forces to force a break in the spiralling clashes.
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