Manipur: Newly Formed Group Suspected in Killing of Police Officer

IMPHAL: In Manipur, the tragic killing of Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Chingtham Anand Kumar has raised concerns and suspicions about the involvement of a recently formed group known as the People's Protection Force (PPF). While Manipur's security advisor, Kuldiep Singh, has publicly stated that the sniper responsible for the attack and the group behind it have been identified, sources with insider information have shed light on a different narrative.

According to these undisclosed sources, the fatal attack on the police officer may be attributed to the PPF, a newly established group located in Moreh, Manipur. They allege that the operation to eliminate the SDPO was conducted under the supervision of a commander from a Kuki militant outfit, which is currently operating under the Suspension of Operations (SoO), a tripartite ceasefire agreement involving the state government and the Centre.

While the identities of those involved have not been officially disclosed, the sources claim that the PPF had been planning to ambush the state police's special commandos who were deployed to maintain law and order in the border town.

The sources further revealed that three days prior to the sniper ambush that claimed SDPO Anand's life, individuals from the PPF and a prominent Kuki civil body in Tengnoupal district engaged in a heated argument with the police officer. The disagreement revolved around the police personnel's efforts to clear the Eastern Shine school ground.

The school ground clearance, initiated on October 26 for the construction of a helipad, was being overseen by SDPO Anand, along with the 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) commandant, H Balram, and Superintendent of Police (railways and special commandos), Th. Krishnatombi Singh.

According to the sources, following the confrontation on October 29, a co-founder of the PPF, who is a former serviceman, and a Kuki National Army (KNA) commander positioned themselves near a church in Moreh. Using a brand-new sniper rifle reportedly procured from the Thailand border, they carried out the fatal attack on SDPO Anand.

The sources also divulged that troublemakers in Moreh have been extorting money from local residents to acquire ammunition, sophisticated weapons, particularly snipers, and to bring in trainers from Myanmar to provide instruction to Chin-Kuki youths as PPF volunteers.

Furthermore, the sources claim that recruits are being sheltered and trained in arms at Haolenphai and Sahei, two Kuki villages situated along the India-Myanmar international border on the Indian side in Moreh. It is alleged that this extortion drive managed to accumulate a substantial sum of approximately Rs 8.7 crore in its initial campaign, with orders issued by an influential Chin-Kuki body based in Moreh.

These sources also suggest that sophisticated weaponry, including snipers, assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and explosives, have been recently acquired from sources in Thailand and China. A second batch of arms training for PPF volunteers is said to be underway, with the involvement of a KNA commander who had supervised the sniper ambush.

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