IMPHAL, Sept 4: The Manipur government has appointed a
retired decorated Army officer who was in charge of the
operation to destroy militant camps in Myanmar eight years
ago, as the senior superintendent of police (combat), a post
created for him, officials said on Monday.
The appointment of Col (retired) Nectar Sanjenbam for five
years followed union home minister Amit Shah statement last
month that Kuki people started entering Manipur from
Myanmar illegally following a military crackdown on militants.
An organisation of the Meitei, one of the warring communities
in the northeastern state, have also asserted that the four-
month-long strife is a manifestation of the tension over
deforestation, illegal opium poppy cultivation and change in
demography in certain areas of the state mainly caused by
illegal immigrants from Myanmar.
It is alleged that arms are being supplied to militants from
Myanmar to Manipur.
“The Governor of Manipur is pleased to appoint Col (retired)
Nectar Sanjenbam as senior superintendent of police (Combat)
in Manipur police department on a fixed tenure basis for a
period of five years with immediate effect,” the state home
department said in an order.
He had led the operations against militants in Myanmar in June
2015, days after their attack in Manipur’s Chandel district left
18 Army personnel dead. “Significant casualties” have been
inflicted on them, the Army had said.
It appears that the government wants to use the retired
Colonel’s experience in counter-militancy operations in
Myanmar to address the situation in Manipur where more than
160 people were killed in the ethnic violence since early May.
Col Sanjenbam who retired prematurely last year was awarded
the Kirti Chakra gallantry award for his role in the operation
inside Myanmar.
Speaking during the debate on the no-confidence motion in Lok
Sabha on August 10, Home Minister Shah said problems started
in Manipur with the influx of Kuki refugees from neighbouring
Myanmar after the military rulers there started a crackdown
against militants in 2021.
The Kuki refugees started settling down in the jungles in the
Manipur valley, raising fears of a demographic change in the
region, Shah said.
More than 160 people lost their lives and several hundreds
were injured since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on
May 3, after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill
districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for
Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population
and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals — Nagas and Kukis
— constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill
districts. (PTI)
