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

New Delhi: The CBI, which is probing six cases related to violence in Manipur, has not made any arrest so far, officials said on Friday.

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.

Manipur Police has got in touch with the two women, who were paraded naked in May and then sexually assaulted, and were in the process of recording their statement, officials said here on Friday. They said keeping in mind the situation arising out of ethnic clashes that broke out in the state on May 4, a team of women officials and personnel from Manipur police was formed to probe the case. The officials said the team had met the family members as well as the two women and the process of recording their statements had begun.

Two security personnel, including an Army jawan, were injured in a gun-battle with militants in Manipur's Bishnupur district, officials said. The gunfight broke out in Phoubakchao Ikhai area, around 50 km from state capital Imphal, on Thursday morning and continued for around 15 hours till late at night, when the insurgents fled the area. At least one house in nearby Tera Khongsangbi was set on fire during the shootout.

As the two sides were engaged in the shootout, the police personnel intervened to disperse the mobs, they said.