Manipur minister denies role in drone attacks | Guwahati News
GUWAHATI: Manipur’s tribal affairs and hills minister Letpao Haokip denied Wednesday allegations levelled by Delhi-based Bharat Hindu Maha Sena (BHMS) that he masterminded the recent drone bombings by suspected militants at Koutruk in Imphal West district. BHMS had announced a Rs 1 lakh bounty on his head, prompting Haokip to respond.
Haokip expressed his bewilderment at being linked to the Koutruk drone attack, which is under investigation by security forces and other agencies.”I have no involvement in the violence that has persisted in Manipur over the past 14 months,” he said.
Haokip also warned against introducing a religious narrative into the ethnic conflict in the state that started on May 3 last year. “The origin and motives of this organisation need to be traced by all concerned,” he said, noting that the communities involved in the state’s conflict have rejected such religious interpretations.
Violence continued in Manipur as unidentified people set fire to the house of retired police officer Sinam Bipin Singhre in Jakuradhor of Jiribam district. The property had been vacated by the family when the ethnic strife was at its peak last year.
In response to the ongoing conflict, Manipur police have acquired medium machine guns (MMGs) from Ordnance Factory in Jabalpur to strengthen their arsenal. However, police officers admitted they currently lack trained personnel to operate these 7.62mm MMG MK 2A1s effectively, leading them to seek training from the Army.
The police force has been relying on light machine guns (LMGs), some of which were looted during the early days of unrest in May-June 2023. In that period, over 4,000 automatic and semi-automatic weapons and more than six lakh rounds of ammunition were stolen from state armouries across several districts, including Imphal East, Imphal West, Kakching, and Churachandpur.
The unrest escalated after this mass looting, and many of these weapons remain unrecovered.
