Manipur govt considering arming people against militants

IMPHAL: Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh will soon take up with the Union Home ministry whether guns could be given to the local people for protecting themselves against attacks, kidnapping and extortion bids by militants, official sources said on Thursday.

Villagers of Heirok in Thoubal district and Lilong Chajing in Imphal West district, in separate memoranda to the chief minister, demanded issuing of licensed guns to them in view of the killing of four persons by militants in the areas since March.

While three persons, two girls and a boy, were gunned down by militants during a festival at Heirok in the name of chasing a rival member on March 24, a 55-year old man was shot dead by militants at Lilong Chajing on April 23. Angry residents of both the villages who had formed Joint Action Committees (JAC) submitted their memoranda, demanding guns, to Ibobi Singh, JAC sources said.

Sources said a high-level central team led by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar who visited Manipur on April 26 last had discussed the matter with senior state government officials. State government officers had discussed the issue with the top officials of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the sources said. 

Published by Times of India