Manipur to get two more elite CRPF CoBRA units

Guwahati: Manipur will get two more battalions of the elite CoBRA unit of the CRPF, in addition to the one that has already been deployed, as the state steps up efforts to restore normalcy in conflict-affected areas and stop militants from regrouping.

Chief minister Y Khemchand Singh and home minister Govindas Konthoujam recently stated that large-scale combing operations were being carried out in violence-hit areas of the state. The CM said that the two additional CoBRA units would be deployed soon.

CRPF director-general GP Singh, who visited Manipur recently, said the CoBRA units were being deployed at the directions of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Initially, the ministry had directed deployment of two battalions.

Deployment of security forces is dynamic and is constantly calibrated in accordance with requirements, he said at the time.

Thousands of central paramilitary forces are deployed in Manipur amid ethnic violence that began in May 2023. More than 260 people were killed, over 1,500 injured and around 60,000 displaced so far in the violence.

“Manipur is caught in a full-blown ethnic fight between the Kukis and Meiteis and the Nagas and Kukis,” a senior police official said.

Meanwhile, the All Naga Students Association Manipur organised a protest on Saturday, demanding justice for six Naga civilians who were allegedly killed by militants. They were among Naga people who were taken hostage by rivals on May 13.