Security agencies have flagged the availability of weapons with civilians as a major challenge in violence-hit Manipur. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General G.P. Singh has asked personnel deployed in Manipur to “neutralise” miscreants roaming around in civilian areas with weapons.
Mr. Singh made the remarks during an interaction with CRPF personnel in Manipur on Saturday, according to a 6.05-minute video clip seen by The Hindu. He said that discussions were held at the highest levels in the government, and added, “It is expected that there will be a turnaround in the situation in the northeastern State in the next 1-1.5 years.
More than 6,000 police weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were looted from armouries after ethnic violence erupted in the State on May 3, 2023. Security agencies have consistently flagged the availability of a large number of weapons with civilians as a major security challenge.
In the video, the CRPF officer said that personnel need not worry about firing at miscreants and he, as a DG, would protect any “bona fide action”.
“If you do not fire at miscreants, why has the government given us so much arms and ammunition. I have your back. Till the time I am here, no need to worry about any (legal) action,” Mr. Singh said, referring to an April 7 incident in which CRPF personnel opened fire as a mob stormed the force’s camp at Gelmol, a buffer zone between Meitei and Kuki-Zo areas in Bishnupur district since 2023. The firing led to the death of three protestors.
The crowd had gathered to protest the killing of two Meitei children in a “bomb attack” earlier in the day. Gelmol was once a Kuki-Zo village, but after the ethnic violence erupted on May 3, 2023, the tribal community was displaced and the village became a CRPF base camp.
When contacted, Mr. Singh said the video was meant for “internal purposes”.
“I had addressed the troops in Manipur and exhorted them to take the strongest lawful action against armed miscreants. I have always maintained that the responsibility of all the bona fide action taken by the force shall be mine as chief,” he said.
In the video, the officer said that the security forces should prepare for the coming days to deal with all types of miscreants.
“There are two scenarios here. One is the armed miscreants, some of them are active militant groups, or with surrendered militant groups, all of them have weapons. They are misusing the weapons to vitiate the situation in Manipur. The second is the law-and-order issue, which is connected to the armed miscreants. The crowd provides cover to these armed groups so that they can create tensions,” Mr. Singh said.
He further said a calibrated strategy would have to be formed to deal with both scenarios in collaboration with local police, and the strategy should be futuristic and not merely reactionary. “Find out about the events planned in the next 24 hours or over a period of 7-30 days and how they can be stopped at source,” he added.
“Whoever is found roaming in civilian areas with weapons should be neutralised. Please have no doubts over this, I am saying this in clear terms,” the CRPF DG said, adding, “If people continue to charge despite repeated warnings, then the use of force is completely justified.”
The CRPF is one of the largest Central forces deployed in Manipur. Recently, two battalions of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), a specialised unit raised for anti-Maoist operations, were deployed in the State.
“When we said last year that Naxalism would be ended, no one believed us. The next turn is of Manipur,” Mr. Singh said.
More than 260 people have been killed in the State since ethnic violence broke out in 2023, and the tensions between Naga and Kuki communities since February 7 this year have added a new dimension to the conflict.
Published – June 07, 2026 10:26 pm IST
