A PUCL fact-finding report has accused the Manipur police of partisan conduct, claiming they “looked the other way” as killings unfolded on the streets.
BY PC Bureau
August 24 –The much-discussed People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) report has cast a sharp spotlight on the partisan role of the Manipur Police and armed forces during the outbreak of ethnic violence on May 3, 2023. It lends weight to longstanding allegations that sections of the security apparatus were complicit in the violence and looting of police stations and armouries.
Based on extensive testimonies from community members, women’s groups, and independent experts, the Independent People’s Tribunal on the Ongoing Ethnic Conflict in Manipur describes a disturbing pattern: police and security forces either failed to act—or in some cases enabled mob violence—as clashes consumed nearly 260 lives, widespread arson left villages in ashes, and women were subjected to sexual violence and public humiliation.
While Meitei leaders have dismissed the PUCL findings as “one-sided,” the report underscores deep questions about the neutrality of law enforcement in a conflict that has devastated Manipur and continues to polarize communities.
Both former Chief minister Biren Singh and the central government have also consistently maintained that the situation was “unprecedented” and overwhelmed the police machinery, but witnesses told the PUCL that selective action against one community and leniency towards the other became increasingly visible during the clashes.
However, the facts speak for themselves. On multiple occasions, when mobs attacked homes, torched churches, and looted armouries in early May 2023, security personnel often appeared absent—or unwilling to intervene. Weapons were looted in large quantities from police stations and IRB camps, with little resistance. Survivors testified that in many cases, police chowkis stood intact while neighbouring villages were reduced to ashes.
Blood-curdling Testimonies.
READ: PUCL Report Exposes State Complicity in Manipur Ethnic Violence
In one of the most harrowing testimonies before the Tribunal, a survivor revealed how her cousin kept begging for help as she was paraded and beaten by a mob, but no one came to her rescue. Even the gates of the Deputy Commissioner’s office—just a few steps away—remained shut.
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Deposing on behalf of her cousin, who was too traumatised to relive the events after losing both her mother and brother, KFO7 described how the mob stormed into their government quarters in Lamphel, Imphal. Two family members were beaten to death, while the young bride of the deceased man was dragged onto the street, forced to walk up to the DC’s office gate, and thrashed until she lost consciousness. “She was holding the gate and shouting for help. Security personnel could see her being beaten, but they did nothing,” KFO7 told the Tribunal.
The deceased woman, an undersecretary in the Manipur government, and her son were among those killed. Her husband, a police officer posted in Imphal, was away in Churachandpur when the attack took place. Other family members were also assaulted but escaped with the help of two Meitei men who rushed them to a nearby Manipur Rifles camp.
According to KFO7, repeated calls to emergency numbers went unanswered. “One police officer finally picked up and said even they could not come out because the situation was too dangerous. He said the Chief Minister had instructed the police not to go out on the streets,” she recalled.
The testimony, widely reported and echoed by survivors across platforms, has further deepened allegations of administrative paralysis and official complicity during the violence.
Another 59-year-old Kuki woman, identified as KFD6, recalled her house in Imphal being set ablaze:
“There was one police jeep there in front of such a large mob. They were helpless. They asked us to call relatives to come and pick us up. At the police station, they told us: ‘We cannot protect you from the mob, go anywhere else.’”
Another survivor, KFD10, whose brother was himself a policeman, testified that he refused to come to her rescue because, “the Chief Minister had advised police not to step out.” She added that when she sought help from CRPF personnel the next morning, “they told us to escape on our own during patrolling.”
“The COps Did Not Lift a Finger”
In a another damning testimony that came from KMD21, a 34-year-old Kuki man from Imphal. His abducted family was paraded past a police outpost: “The mob took them through a route where there was a police chowki under Lamphel station. Four or five policemen were there. They did not lift a finger despite the criminal acts happening right before them.”
His relatives were spat on, threatened with rape, and held hostage before eventually being exchanged for Meitei captives.
Police and Armed groups Hand-in-Hand?
Multiple accounts also spoke of alleged collusion between state forces and armed Meitei groups such as the Arambai Tenggol.
KMS5, a church leader from Ukhrul, testified: “On 30th May, Arambai and State forces came together. We saw them. Both held AK-47s and LMGs. Our village burned while the BSF post nearby did nothing.”
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At least 1,000 FIRs filed in Saikul Police Station recorded similar charges, including cases where police handed over detained Kuki villagers to mobs. One such victim, Soitinkam Vaiphei (56), was killed on the spot. In the same incident, women were stripped and a 21-year-old was gang-raped.
Meitei Survivors Too Reported Abandonment
While the majority of Kuki survivors accused state forces of aiding Meitei mobs, some Meitei survivors also testified to negligence.
MeMD27-1, a Meitei man from Churachandpur, recounted how his injured brother narrowly survived after being shot:
“We begged for an ambulance. Police officials told me not to reveal my location if I wanted to live. Only one Kuki officer privately warned me not to travel in a police vehicle, saying: ‘If you go, you will die.’”
Collapse of Constitutional Machinery
Religious leaders, too, raised alarms. Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal told The Indian Express in June 2023 that 249 churches belonging to Meitei Christians had been destroyed in just 36 hours, questioning why neither the State nor Centre had restored order. “There is a collapse of constitutional machinery in the State,” he said, demanding President’s Rule.
The PUCL Tribunal concluded that the actions—and inactions—of the Manipur Police, Commandos, IRB, CRPF, and other forces “created a deep sense of distrust and hardened the communal divide.”
It states bluntly: “The very forces entrusted with preventing violence either abdicated their duties or became participants in it. This conduct has gravely undermined faith in the rule of law in Manipur.”
With nearly 260 dead, thousands displaced, and entire villages destroyed, the report raises urgent questions about accountability, state complicity, and whether India’s security forces are answerable when they themselves stand accused of abetting mass crimes.