The Armed Forces Special Powers Act or simply AFSPA has been out of the public radar for quite some time when the Chalwa incident happened in the first week of June 2021.
In the Chalwa incident, Assam Rifles personnel in mufti killed a 29-year-old father of four children in Kangpokpi district. In the aftermath, an enraged mob stormed the 44 AR outpost at Gelnel village and torched two vehicles of Assam Rifles.
In the morning, it was found that two AK rifles in the Gypsy were also burnt along with the vehicles. The deceased Mangboilal’s father said that Major Alok Sathe and two others in civvies lured out his son Mangboilal Lhouvum from home and made him drunk before killing him point blank.
The Assam Rifles version is that, Major Sathe and his associates were on the hunt for some KRA men in the area when the incident happened.
The police were at first reluctant to arrest the AR Major Alok Sathe, as AFSPA was still in force in all areas of Manipur except the Greater Imphal area. The Kangpokpi Police Station has registered a FIR against the AR Major and his associates of murder regarding the Chalwa incident, which is unprecedented.
The AR Major was later taken into custody by Kangpokpi police led by Addl.SP(Ops) and OC Chalwa Police Station. To pacify the situation an agreement was reached between representatives of the civil society organisations, Assam Rifles and the State Government.
It was decided that in addition to a proper police investigation, the present company stationed at the Banglabung Outpost shall be replaced. Also, a police station is to be set up in the area and the victim’s family be given an ex-gratia amount of 10,00,000 as compensation.
It was the first case of wanton violation of human rights by security forces after AFSPA was lifted from the Imphal Municipal area in 2004. Although AFSPA was still in force in the hills of Manipur, incidents of human rights violation had by and large come down all over the state.
AFSPA does not differentiate whether one is Meitei or Naga or Kuki. Years of experience tell us that under the shadow of AFSPA, the armed forces operate with impunity and get away with torture, rapes, killings and fake encounters while prosecution is a mirage. Compared to other north-eastern states, Nagaland was most affected by the AFSPA regime where entire villages were razed to the ground.
Assam had also witnessed atrocities and several instances of human rights violations. There were few voices of solidarity to the 2004 movement beyond the state. However, the 2021 incident of civilian killings at Oting of Mon district in Nagaland seems to have ignited the general public in the Northeast to openly voice for its repeal.
One may note here that, the 2004 movement was not for withdrawal of AFSPA, but for its repeal. However, the movement for repeal of AFSPA was mainly concentrated in the valley areas while it was given lip-service by others.
After a prolonged movement in 2004 in the wake of the brutal rape and murder of Manorama Devi, the then O Ibobi led Congress government had withdrawn it from seven assembly constituencies of Greater Imphal despite objections from the Centre.
There were demands for repealing the Act from the whole of Manipur from various sections of the society as a result of overall improvement in law and order situation of the state, but it has not moved forward since the 2004 decision.
Now, AFSPA and Disturbed Areas Act had been withdrawn entirely form the valley area as covered by 19 police stations. Surprisingly, the frontline Kuki CSOs have begun openly voicing for re-imposition of AFSPA in the valley area. Their other consistent demand for imposition of PR in the state would find many takers in the valley also. But, demanding AFSPA is a strange thing and it indicates a lot of things of how the minds of Kuki leaders work and operate.
It is the life and property of civilian lives we are talking about. Time and again, it has been opined that AFSPA is a direct threat to the ‘Right to Life’ both at the national and international forums.
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