Guwahati, July 24, 2023: The Assam Rifles has taken legal action against the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a civil society body representing the state’s Meitei community. An FIR was registered at the Churachandpur police station after the COCOMI allegedly urged people not to surrender weapons for their safety and security.

The FIR, filed recently in Imphal, invokes Section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code, related to sedition, and Section 153 A IPC, pertaining to promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, race, place of birth, residence, or language.

The recent ethnic violence in Manipur, which erupted on May 3, resulted in widespread looting of over 4,000 weapons and lakhs of ammunition from various police stations and outposts, as reported. In response, the Army, Assam Rifles, various other central forces, and Manipur Police have conducted raids and successfully recovered approximately half of the looted arms and ammunition.

During his visit to Manipur from May 29 to June 1, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Manipur Police, appealed to the public to surrender the looted arms, warning of potential legal consequences.

In a recent memorandum to Shah, COCOMI, which was initially a part of the peace committee formed by the Union Home Ministry under Governor Anusuiya Uikey in June, demanded the replacement of Assam Rifles with another central armed police force.

Several civil society organizations have alleged that women protesters were assaulted by the Army and Assam Rifles on different occasions, though these allegations have been refuted by defense sources.

The Army and Assam Rifles have also stated that protesters frequently obstructed their duties and actions against armed miscreants during the course of these events.