After ambushes, CRPF tells forces in Manipur to use armoured vehicles
CRPF has instructed its units in Manipur to use armoured vehicles for movement after recent ambushes on security personnel and to avoid sudden deployments amid widening ethnic tensions.
- Central Reserve Police Force units in Manipur have been instructed to move only in armoured vehicles and avoid sudden or unplanned deployments after recent ambushes on Assam Rifles personnel in Manipur and Nagaland.
- Two CoBRA battalions were inducted in June to intensify operations against armed groups, dismantle bunkers, and recover weapons.
- At least 100 armoured vehicles have recently been sent to Manipur.
- The violence in Manipur since 3 May 2023 has reportedly killed 300 people and has widened from Kuki-Meitei conflict to Kuki-Naga tensions.
What happened
The Central Reserve Police Force has instructed its units in Manipur to move only in armoured vehicles and to avoid sudden or unplanned deployments after recent ambushes on Assam Rifles personnel in Manipur and Nagaland. The force has also been told to act firmly against armed miscreants.
At least 100 armoured vehicles have recently been sent to Manipur. Two CoBRA battalions, which are meant for anti-Maoist operations, were inducted in June to intensify action against armed groups, dismantle bunkers, and recover weapons.
UPSC may frame the issue as an internal-security question on force protection, counter-insurgency operations, and Centre-state coordination in Manipur. The note links operational choices such as armoured movement, deployment of CoBRA battalions, and crowd-management constraints to the broader challenge of restoring law and order without widening alienation among local communities.
