Groups in Manipur use trucks painted in our colour: Assam Rifles
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Imphal: The Assam Rifles have alerted the Manipur police that some Meitei miscreants are using trucks resembling those in the possession of armed force with its insignia.
In its letter to the Manipur police, Assam Rifles said the trucks were spotted at Kakching area of Manipur, The Print reported.
At least a few of the miscreants acquired civilian trucks and painted them in similar colours used by the force with insignia, according to the report.
The force sought pre-emptive action to avert ‘any kind of adverse incident’, adding that the miscreants bought the TATA 407 trucks from civil market.
‘It is reliably learnt that few Meitei miscreants with the help of Valley Based Insurgent Groups (VBIGs) have acquired many used TATA 407 from the civil market and have converted them to resemble the TATA 407 vehicles being used by Assam Rifles,’ the letter reportedly said.
The letter warned the police of the ‘nefarious intention’ of the Valley Based Insurgent Groups to use the vehicles for anti-national activities.
‘Conversion of civil vehicle to look alike of Assam Rifles vehicle clearly shows the nefarious intention of VBIGs to tarnish the Image of Assam Rifles or to utilise the same vehicle for anti-national activities (sic),’ the letter further said.
The former cadres of insurgent groups involving in attacks against communities is a ‘big challenge in Manipur, the report said citing sources.
They include people who had surrendered arms and however started training locals about how to use weapons.
Many Valley Based Insurgent Groups (VBIGs) resurfaced in the state despite having been pushed out of the valley earlier, making the situation ‘precarious’, according to the report.
The source reportedly claimed that armed groups holed up in the jungles of Myanmar have now returned to fight for their community.
Armed civilians were found to be roaming around in police uniforms in the valley, and of the five Meiteis arrested in Imphal East on 16 September one person turned out to be a former People Liberation Army operative, the report said.
‘We received many inputs of policemen firing at the Kuki community on the fringes. Even some people from the security forces confirmed it to us. We later realised that it is not the police, but miscreants from Imphal valley who have started wearing police uniforms and moving around,’ a the report said citing an intelligence source.