Guwahati: The Centre on Thursday moved top counter-terror specialist and Ladakh DGP Mukesh Singh to Manipur as the three-year-old ethnic conflict has now engulfed the state’s three major communities — Meitei, Kuki and Naga.The highly decorated officer is likely to take charge as the head of Manipur’s police force, replacing Rajiv Singh, who has been appointed secretary (security) in the Cabinet secretariat. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved Mukesh Singh’s inter-cadre deputation from the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories) to Manipur for three years, according to an office memorandum issued by the department of personnel and training (DoPT). His transfer will be with immediate effect.The 1996-batch IPS officer, who is also an IIT-Delhi alumnus, has extensive field experience in Jammu and Kashmir and has served in volatile districts such as Pulwama, Poonch and Jammu. He led several major anti-terror operations and earned multiple gallantry awards. He served as additional DGP in Jammu zone before a central deputation with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and earlier held postings as DIG and IG in the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Singh has been serving as Ladakh DGP since Jan this year.Manipur has also seen the participation of new players from across the border, including Myanmar’s Kuki National Army-Burma, which works in coordination with the anti-junta armed group People’s Defence Force (PDF), engaging itself in the conflict. A defence source confirmed the incursion of the Kuki National Army-Burma recently in Kamjong district and said it carried out attacks in three Tangkhul Naga villages along the India-Myanmar border.The state remains tense after three church leaders of the Thadou Baptist Association India were shot dead in Kangpokpi district and a Chiru Naga man was killed on May 13, triggering a spate of abductions of villagers from both Naga and Kuki communities by armed groups belonging to either side.Over 38 men, women and children from both communities were abducted from different locations. As many as 31 have been set free, mostly women, children and sick villagers, while others remain untraced for over a week despite a massive search operation by security forces. The Nagas claim six of their men are still in captivity of Kukis, while the Kukis claim 14 of their men, including three students, have not been released by the Nagas.The significance of Singh’s appointment lies in Manipur’s fragile law and order situation, where insurgency and ethnic tensions have persisted, with the latest standoff between Nagas and Kukis continuing over the past month.
