Center sends 20 more CAPF companies to Manipur after fresh violence

The Center has dispatched 20 additional Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) companies, comprising around 2,000 personnel, to Manipur in the wake of fresh attacks and law and order problems in the state, official sources said on Wednesday (November 13).

Sources told PTI that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had issued orders on Tuesday night for airlift and immediate deployment of these units.

At least 10 suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Monday after insurgents in camouflage uniforms, armed with advanced weapons, opened indiscriminate fire on Borobekra police station and the neighboring CRPF camp at Jakuradhor in Jiribam district. .

A large number of advanced weapons were also seized by the force following the fierce gunfight.

Sources said that 20 new companies of CAPF, including 15 from CRPF and 5 from Border Security Force (BSF), have been ordered to be sent to Manipur.

These units will be added to the 198 CAPF companies already deployed in the state following ethnic violence that broke out in the state in May 2023, resulting in 200 deaths.

All these CAPF units will be at the disposal of the Manipur government by November 30 as per MHA’s instructions, but the deployment is expected to be extended, sources said.

Tension has been high in Manipur since last week due to fresh violence in Jiribam.

Following the November 11 incident, fresh violence was reported from many places in the Imphal Valley, where armed groups from both warring sides exchanged fire, the state police said.