No arrest made by CBI in 6 Manipur violence cases so far: Officials

Hundreds of people have lost their lives and many have been injured in the violence.

Manipur has not made any arrests so far, officials said on July 28.

In accordance with the procedure, the federal agency took over the FIRs from the state police last month and the investigation is continuing, they said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has not made the FIRs public even after a month of re-registering those, considering the delicate circumstances in which it is probing these cases.

The agency formed a special investigation team (SIT) under a DIG-rank officer in June to investigate the six cases referred to it by the Union home ministry, the officials said.

Teams of the agency are investigating the cases in tough circumstances, they said, adding that they often face hostile crowds, blockades and protests and it is difficult to find witnesses in a state facing sharp faultlines on ethnic grounds.

"So far, the CBI has not arrested anyone in connection with the six FIRs related to the Manipur violence cases. The investigation is continuing,” one of the officials said. Violence broke out in Manipur after a "Tribal Solidarity March” was organised in the hill districts of the northeastern state on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Hundreds of people have lost their lives and many have been injured in the violence. The clashes were preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal valley. Tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, account for another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.