How mortar fire and grenades are fuelling Manipur violence

Cache of weapons snatched are enough to arm two companies of armed forces, say experts

Imphal: For anyone taking stock of the situation in Manipur, the devil’s in the details. As per the Manipur Govt statement in the Supreme Court 187 people have been killed and more than 502 people were injured by June 9 and over 30000 displaced.

The bodies of the dead and injured too reveal a story of their own. They show a troubling truth: the use of mortar shells and automatic weapons in ethnic clashes. This was the first time indirect fire weapons have been used in a civil war-like situation in India.

Now a report from the Moirang police station reveals the gravity of the situation. According to the report 227 assault rifles, 9 Light Machine Guns, 29 Sub-machine guns, 9 Pistols, 4 51mm Mortars, 124 hand grenades, 48 bulletproof vests and an incredible 19465 rounds of ammunition are missing.

This is enough weaponry to arm two infantry companies or over 250 soldiers of the Indian Army. These weapons are being used not to protect the country or to safeguard law and order. They are now instruments of ethnic cleansing in the hands of frenzied mobs.

A never-before dangerous situation

This is unprecedented in the history of independent India, security experts told News9 Plus.

“This is a first of its kind situation that we’re facing. What we’re seeing is a complete rift. Here communities have divided land, they have established bunkers to guard their territory. The use of mortars in internal ethnic clashes has never happened before in India,” says Yashowardhan Azad, Former Special Director, IB.

Former DGP Kerala Dr. NC Asthana, concurs.

“They’ve taken mortars for the specific purpose of firing indiscriminately at entire villages. Even the Maoists could never do that, they tried making crude mortars but failed. Divided along ethnic and tribal lines, Manipur has been a tinderbox for long”.

In May 2023, the tinderbox exploded into ethnic clashes when the Meitei-dominated state government went ahead with the demolition of illegal constructions in Kuki-dominated hill areas. Two churches were pulled down, the word soon spread, leaving the Kukis up in arms. Rumours and hate-mongering on WhatsApp and other social media did the rest.

A history of violence

It was in this backdrop that police stations and armouries were targeted across the hill state. On 4th May, an angry Meitei mob allegedly stormed the Manipur Police Training Centre at Pangei in Imphal East as the only guard on duty watched helplessly. Similar looting was reported across the state including in Kuki-dominated Churachandpur.

By May 10th, the state had descended into chaos as armed Kuki militants from neighbouring Myanmar allegedly targeted the Meitei community and Meitei mobs ransacked Kuki homes in the Imphal valley.

The state government has been discredited completely and the Kukis denounce the government as partisan. The Meiteis, for their part, are angry that their own government has failed to protect them.

Angry mobs of desperate Manipuri women block roads and protest.

Opposition parties in Manipur and across India have called for the sacking of the Manipur CM Biren Singh and the imposition of President’s rule.

Things seem to be falling apart in Manipur. It is time sanity prevails.