After mob attack on forces in Kuki leader's village, Manipur CM vows to intensify 'war on drugs' campaign

Guwahati: Manipur CM N. Biren Singh on Sunday announced to intensify his government's "war on drugs" campaign--a day after a mob in a Kuki leader's village in Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district allegedly attacked a team of security forces carrying out a drive to destroy illegal poppy cultivation.

"The drive will be intensified," Singh told reporters hours after the alleged mob attack.

A statement issued by the state government on Saturday night said that a mob at Lhungjang, the native village of Ch. Ajang Khongsai, President of Kuki Inpi, Manipur, resorted to "violent opposition" to the drive being carried out by a joint team of police, forest personnel and the CRPF in Kangpokpi district.

"A large mob armed with sticks gathered at the site, forcibly halting the operation. Taking advantage of the limited number of police personnel, the mob vandalized three police vehicles and threatened the personnel to stop the destruction drive. The situation quickly escalated, and a reinforcement team led by SP Kangpokpi rushed to the spot to control the mob and restore order and ensure the continuation of the destruction drive."

It said the mob destroyed several vehicles but failed to stop the drive as 45 acres of illegal poppy cultivation was destroyed. Police lodged an FIR against those involved in the attack.

War on drugs:

The state police, forest department and paramilitary forces recently resumed the drive against illegal poppy cultivation in the Kuki-dominated districts. A large area under poppy cultivation was destroyed in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur and Tengnoupal district. The drive, which was expanded in 2023, however, was cited as one of the triggers of the Meitei-Kuki conflict that erupted in May 2023. More than 260 people have been killed and over 60,000 others displaced in the conflict.

Meitei's demand:

Singh's announcement came on a day the Co-ordination Committee on Manipur Unity (COCOMI), a forum of organisations representing the Meiteis, submitted a memorandum to Chief Ministers of all eight states of the Northeast seeking urgent steps to declare "narco-terrorist emergency" and establishment of a dedicated anti-narcotics bureau.

"The ongoing crisis in Manipur is not merely an ethnic conflict, as claimed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and others. It is deeply intertwined with narco terrorism and geopolitical dynamics, requiring urgent and transparent action from the respective state governments the Centre," COCOMI said in the memorandum submitted to the CMs on Sunday.

Manipur CM and Meitei organisations had several times alleged a nexus of the Kuki rebel groups with the drug lords based out in neighbouring Myanmar.

Kuki organisations, on the other hand, countered such allegations saying the Manipur government and the Meitei organisations are trying to target the Kukis alleging their involvement in drugs trade in order to carry out an ethnic cleansing against the community.