Op Weapon Recovery: Army defangs rivals in Manipur, recovering arms to bring peace
Keithelmanbi (Manipur) (PTI): The army cordon moved in slowly as darkness set in over the village of New Keithelmanbi some 40 km from the capital Imphal, surrounded on all sides by a dense forest.
The army and Assam Rifles personnel who had swooped down on the village in Kangpokpi district on the edge of the Imphal valley on Friday, were searching for arms.
"In the last few days, we have observed that communities are attacking each other with firearms. In some cases, people are being killed This sudden emergence of arms is delaying the entire peace process," a senior Army official told PTI.
In the surprise raid to New Keithelmanbi village, where this PTI correspondent accompanied troopers, a country made pipe gun and huge cache of explosives were recovered along with one air gun and blank packet of cartridge.
Armed vigilante groups have been taking the law into their own hands in parts of Manipur, in the wake of ethnic rioting earlier, thus complicating the peace process. At times, militant groups have joined in the fray, creating an even more volatile cocktail of ethnic tension.
On condition of anonymity, the army officer said that they are now concentrating on stopping such elements which are threatening the return of normalcy to the state.
"Indian Army and Assam Rifles have decided to carry out surprise search operations on villages of different communities. We are not targeting any one particular community.
"Our aim is to stop that one individual in the entire village who is threatening the other community by carrying arms. We are seizing such weapons and also apprehending them," said the official, who was sent to Manipur after violence erupted earlier this month.
Talking about Friday's operations, the official said that New Keithelmanbi village is adjacent to National Highway-37, which is the only lifeline to Manipur at this moment.
"We had reports that people in the village have firearms and explosives. Our prime objective is to protect the highway so that no untoward incident can take place there. Around 250 trucks are using this road every day, carrying essential supplies.
"So, we carried out a suprise search and recovered explosives and one air gun. The air gun was, however, returned to village elders as it can be kept without a licence," he added.
Visiting the village, nestled on a hillock, the PTI correspondent saw bunkers and trenches that were constructed in order to prevent any attack from the opposite community.
Empty packets of cartridges were strewn near one of the bunkers. The road from the hill above the village was completely blocked by placing logs and bushes, though the entry from the highway was still open. The force also videographed the entire exercise of search operations.
One woman, whose house was searched, alleged that security personnel came every other day and harassed them in the name of search operations.
This however, was denied by army officials who said the raids were conducted on the basis of intelligence inputs and the platoons which were sent out had women soldiers from the Assam Rifles to ensure that women whose houses are searched remain safe.
Clashes broke out in Manipur after a Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
The ethnic clashes claimed over 70 lives and some 10,000 army and para-military personnel had to be deployed to bring back normalcy in the northeastern state.
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Punjab: 16 private schools in Mohali receive bomb threat emails
Chandigarh (PTI): Sixteen private schools in Punjab's Mohali received bomb threat emails on Wednesday, triggering evacuation and prompting detailed anti-sabotage checks by police, an officer said.
No suspicious or explosive material was discovered at any of the locations after thorough inspections, the officer said.
School authorities sent messages to parents, declaring a holiday. Students on their way to school were sent back home, they said.
Manav Mangal School, Shivalik Public School, and Learning Paths School were among the schools which received the bomb threat emails.
The police said they swung into action after school authorities reported receiving the emails between 7.30 am and 8 am.
Security was mounted at the targeted schools, and intensive searches were carried out, they said.
"The police teams led by superintendents of police, deputy superintendents of police and other officials were rushed to the schools along with anti-sabotage teams and bomb disposal squads," Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harmandeep Singh Hans told reporters.
Around 300 policemen were involved in the search operation, and all targeted schools were evacuated, he said.
The checking of all schools was completed within about two-and-a-half hours with the support of additional force and specialised teams from neighbouring districts of Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, and Chandigarh headquarters, Hans said.
"No explosive material was found at any of the locations," he added.
The search operations were supervised by SP City Dilpreet Singh, along with SPs Navneet Singh Mahal, Mohit Aggarwal, Sukhnaz Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Talwinder Singh Gill; DSP City-1 Prithvi Singh Chahal, DSP City-2 Harsimran Singh Bal and all station house officers.
Schools covered during the search included Amity School, Doon School, Learning Paths, Gurukul School, Vivek High School, Paragon School, YPS School, Lawrence School, and Gem Public School.
An FIR is being lodged, and the case has been referred to the Cyber Police Station, Phase-7, Mohali, to ascertain the origin of the threatening email and conduct an investigation, Hans said.
The latest scare comes close on the heels of similar threat incidents in Chandigarh, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, and schools in Haryana, all of which turned out to be hoaxes.
