Troops Being Rotated In Manipur To Avoid Allegations Of Bias: Sources

New Delhi: Soldiers are regularly being rotated during area domination exercises in Manipur, said an officer refuting allegations of bias or favoritism.  

“Mega joint combing exercises are going on in sensitive areas both in hills and valley and in order to avoid any accusation by any group we are ensuring that troops are regularly rotated,” a senior officer on ground told NDTV.

These combing operations, said the officer, are aimed at de-escalating tensions amongst communities through physical domination besides recovery of snatched weapons that are still in the illegal custody of locals.

“Security forces are continuously working towards controlling violence and disarming the society through sustained confidence building measures amongst all sections of the society,” he said, adding that prior to commencement of search of houses, forests and fields in both valley as also the hills, locals were urged to voluntarily surrender illegal/snatched weapons.

In search operations today, 29 weapons (all types – mostly automatic) – mortar, hand grenades, small arms ammunition were recovered.

“During the conduct of these operations, adequate measures were undertaken to ensure that the locals are not harassed,” the officer further said.

A total of 868 arms and 11,518 ammunitions have been recovered till date, as per the Home Ministry data.

Political activity in many areas also has gained momentum in Manipur.

“Elected MLAs and ministers of the state are visiting different areas of state and appealing for peace and normalcy by meeting public at large and CSOs,” said a senior MHA official.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, popularly known as NEET, for entrance to medical colleges was conducted on Tuesday at 22 centers (12 in Imphal West and 10 in Imphal East).

The examination was held in a peaceful manner and the attendance was normal.