Editor's Pick: Manipur Police files case against Assam Rifles

In an unprecedented move, the Manipur Police have registered a criminal case against the Assam Rifles, the oldest paramilitary force in the country, for “obstruction of duty” and “criminal intimidation”. The police have accused personnel of the 9th battalion of the Assam Rifles of the “arrogant act” of “giving a chance to the accused Kuki militants to escape freely to a safe zone”. The FIR comes in the wake of the August 5 incident at Kwakta in the Meitei-dominated Bishnupur area where a father-son duo and another person were hacked to death in their sleep by armed miscreants, suspected to be members of the Kuki community who came from the neighbouring Churachandpur district. Following the killings, the police alleged that their team was stopped by the Assam Rifles unit from conducting a search operation to trace the suspected attackers. They alleged that the Assam Rifles, which is under the operational control of the Army, used armoured vehicles to block their way. A video of the altercation went viral the same day. The Army said in a statement on Tuesday that some inimical elements had made desperate and failed attempts to question the role, intent, and integrity of the Central security forces, especially Assam Rifles, that is working relentlessly towards saving lives and restoration of peace in Manipur since May 3. The Army said two instances emerged that were aimed at maligning the Assam Rifles. While in the first case, the battalion had acted strictly in accordance with the mandate of the unified headquarters of strict enforcement of buffer zone guidelines, the second case of the Assam Rifles being moved out of an area is not even related to them. An Infantry Battalion of the Army is deployed in the area (ever since the crisis erupted in May) from where the narrative of Assam Rifles being moved out has been made. On August 7, the BJP State leadership submitted a memorandum to PM Narendra Modi saying the “Assam Rifles has been charged by the public for their biased role in tackling the situation by favouring and supporting one side only”. Meanwhile, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday blamed the Congress and its policies of the past for the conflicts in Manipur and elsewhere in the northeast. Sharing figures of deaths due to ethnic conflicts in Manipur since 1990, he said, “The sole responsibility is with the Congress. The party must remember that during all these violent activities, none of their PMs visited Manipur or tried to give a healing touch,” he said, defending Mr. Modi’s silence until the viral video of two Kuki women being paraded naked shook the nation. The Hindu’s Editorials Communal punishment: On riots and demolitions Falling short: On the Digital Data Protection Bill, 2023 The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which open-source artificial intelligence platform known for offering tools to develop machine learning applications recently got a $200 million funding at a valuation of $4 billion? Poker Face Type Face Hugging Face Dub Face To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 09 August 2023 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Manipur Police files case against Assam Rifles In an unprecedented move, the [Manipur Police have registered a criminal case against the Assam Rifles]( the oldest paramilitary force in the country, for “obstruction of duty” and “criminal intimidation”. The police have accused personnel of the 9th battalion of the Assam Rifles of the “arrogant act” of “giving a chance to the accused Kuki militants to escape freely to a safe zone”. The FIR comes in the wake of the August 5 incident at Kwakta in the Meitei-dominated Bishnupur area where a [father-son duo and another person were hacked to death in their sleep by armed miscreants]( suspected to be members of the Kuki community who came from the neighbouring Churachandpur district. Following the killings, the police alleged that their team was stopped by the Assam Rifles unit from conducting a search operation to trace the suspected attackers. They alleged that the Assam Rifles, which is under the operational control of the Army, used armoured vehicles to block their way. [A video of the altercation went viral the same day.]( The Army said in a statement on Tuesday that some inimical elements had made desperate and failed attempts to question the role, intent, and integrity of the Central security forces, especially Assam Rifles, that is working relentlessly towards saving lives and restoration of peace in Manipur since May 3. The Army said two instances emerged that were aimed at maligning the Assam Rifles. While in the first case, the battalion had acted strictly in accordance with the mandate of the unified headquarters of strict enforcement of buffer zone guidelines, the second case of the Assam Rifles being moved out of an area is not even related to them. An Infantry Battalion of the Army is deployed in the area[(ever since the crisis erupted in May]( from where the narrative of Assam Rifles being moved out has been made. On August 7, the BJP State leadership submitted a memorandum to PM Narendra Modi saying the “Assam Rifles has been charged by the public for their biased role in tackling the situation by favouring and supporting one side only”. Meanwhile, [Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday blamed the Congress and its policies of the past for the conflicts in Manipur]( elsewhere in the northeast. Sharing figures of deaths due to ethnic conflicts in Manipur since 1990, he said, “The sole responsibility is with the Congress. The party must remember that during all these violent activities, none of their PMs visited Manipur or tried to give a healing touch,” he said, defending Mr. Modi’s silence until the viral video of [two Kuki women being paraded naked shook the nation.]( The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Communal punishment: On riots and demolitions]( [Arrow][Falling short: On the Digital Data Protection Bill, 2023]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which open-source artificial intelligence platform known for offering tools to develop machine learning applications recently got a $200 million funding at a valuation of $4 billion? - Poker Face - Type Face - Hugging Face - Dub Face To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. [Sign up for free]( [[India asking corruption, dynasty, appeasement to quit India: PM Modi’s swipe at Opposition] India asking corruption, dynasty, appeasement to quit India: PM Modi’s swipe at Opposition]( [[Madras Day | An Anglo-Indian memory of St Thomas Mount] Madras Day | An Anglo-Indian memory of St Thomas Mount]( [[Explained | How a changing monsoon is challenging forecasters and disaster managers] Explained | How a changing monsoon is challenging forecasters and disaster managers]( [[The grammar of commerce in a new age of geopolitics] The grammar of commerce in a new age of geopolitics]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( Manage your newsletter subscription preferences [here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](