Imphal: Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Monday said the State Government is examining individual cases of alleged unlawful and criminal activities registered in the wake of the violence that broke out in May 2023.
Taking part in a short-duration discussion moved by Opposition MLA K. Ranjit Singh in the Manipur Assembly, the Chief Minister said the unprecedented violence had compelled many youths to take up arms. While some may have had “good intentions”, he said, others could have become involved in criminal activities.
Khemchand said the State Government has not declared Village Volunteers in the hills and valley or Arambai Tenggol as banned organisations. He said the police had not registered cases against individuals solely on the basis of their affiliation with these groups, adding that arrests were based on alleged individual criminal activities.
The Chief Minister said Manipur Police had been a strong force in the past, but its morale had declined following the crisis that began on May 3, 2023. The government was now working to strengthen the force, he said.
However, Khemchand said the government could not withdraw criminal cases filed against individuals during the crisis. The cases would be examined individually, he said, adding that the process would take time.
Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam, meanwhile, reiterated the government’s 2024 decision not to prosecute individuals who were not involved in heinous crimes such as attacks on security forces, extortion, murder or other serious criminal activities.
“It is the responsibility of the government to save youths who are not involved in heinous crimes,” he said.
Konthoujam rejected the Opposition’s allegation that youths were being harassed by the police and said individual cases would be examined by the government.
He also informed the Assembly that the Chief Minister had instructed the authorities to release, after questioning, individuals named in suo motu cases registered by different investigating agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), at the earliest.
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