Manipur has declared no-confidence in MHA. FIR against Assam Rifles, disarmed IR Battalion

While Assam Rifles has been accused of being partisan, an Indian Reserve Battalion has lost all its weapons in Manipur. The state government and the ‘mob’ have clearly declared no-confidence in the Ministry of Home Affairs since both institutions are budgeted by the Union ministry. Both incidents are unparalleled in modern India for their scale of impunity, and the sheer audacity of the statement made by the government of Manipur. The state police were of course involved in both unbelievable incidents. But at the receiving end was the authority of the home ministry, which has seen its writ clearly defied by Manipur.

The second India Reserve (IR) Battalion of Manipur Police in Naransena, Bishnupur district, was raided by a mob in the bright morning hours of 3 August. The loot included hundreds of sophisticated assault rifles, pistols and even mortars. When an incident of this nature and scale happens well into the third month of a complete breakdown in the state, the message sent out is stark and unequivocal. Agencies of the State are not willing, or interested, and maybe even incapable of functions for which they draw a salary on the basis of a constitutional oath.