Voodoo-Man of Manipur

The next Manipur assembly session begins tomorrow – February 10. Chief Minister N Biren Singh has told reporters that if a no-confidence motion is moved at the assembly session against the state government by “any member”, the MLA would be chased by the people and won’t be able to stay at home.

Since Biren Singh gave this statement after meeting the Governor, it can be assumed that he has the latter’s concurrence to say so. Also, when he says the MLA(s) moving the no-confidence motion will be chased by the people, he meant his goon armies; armed cadres of the Arambai Tenggol, UNLF, Kanglei Yawol Kunna Lup (KYKL), and even Manipur police commandos operating directly under him. Similarly, concerned MLAs “won’t be able to stay at home” implies physical threat to the individual(s), their families and possibility of their homes being attacked and burned down.

It is quite possible that the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs may not attend the assembly session, as has happened in the past on grounds of personal security. At the same time, many BJP MLAs are also fed up with the antics of this chief minister, whose ethnic cleansing experiment under the banner of extreme hardcore Hindutva has turned the erstwhile peaceful state of Manipur into a bloodbath. A coalition of 10 BJP MLAs, five Congress MLAs, five JD(U) MLAs, six NPP MLAs, and three Independents is reportedly preparing to introduce a no-confidence motion in the assembly session, while CLP leader Okram Ibobi, along with four Congress MLAs, has met with Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, urging intervention.

Biren Singh’s sordid shenanigans, lies that he is in contact with Kuki MLAs while ignoring them completely., links with cross border Manipuri terrorist organizations like the KYKL, and ethnic cleansing of tribals turning the peaceful state of Manipur into anarchy and bloodletting has been covered in these columns earlier (https://www.thestrategicperspective.org/op-eds/visual-composer-1657/). It was also pointed out that Biren Singh’s patronage has facilitated a militant organization like Arambai Tenggol to open branches in New Delhi, Chandigarh and West Bengal, even as GK Pillaii, former Union Home Secretary had called for criminal charges to be filed against Biren Singh. Also, Arambai Tenggol chief is on the radar of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

But this is about the “Manipur Tapes”; audio clips claimed to be of Biren Singh initiating the ethnic cleansing of the Kuki-Zo community (under the watch of the Government of India) where hundreds of Kuki-Zo have been killed. In June 2023, a three-member “Commission of Inquiry”, headed by former Guwahati High Court Chief Justice Ajai Lamba, was appointed to probe ethnic violence in Manipur from May 3, 2023. It was then said that the report would be submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to the Centre within six months

A copy of the (Manipur Tapes), claimed to be recorded at Biren Singh’s official premises, was submitted to the Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Lamba last year. Concurrently, the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) petitioned the Supreme Court (SC), seeking a court-monitored probe into the audio tape. The SC directed KOHUR on November 14, 2024 to verify the authenticity of the audio tape and submit its report to the court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tried to stall the proceedings by saying the petitioner should have first approached the high court. In its report on the Manipur Tapes to the SC, the ‘Truth Lab Forensic Services’ has said that there is 93% match between Biren Singh's voice samples and the audio clips; there being “high probability” that they are the same voice.

But on February 3, 2025, in a hearing in the SC, the Solicitor General sought three weeks’ time to have the tapes verified by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) and reiterated that KOHUR should have first approached the high court. The SC has granted the Centre three weeks’ time to submit the CFSL report in a sealed cover. The next date of hearing has been set for March 24 although KOHUR pointed out that government agencies like the CBI and CFSL themselves have approached Truth Lab in the past for forensic analysis, results of which were accepted by the SC.

The Biren Sigh government says that the audio clips are doctored and meant to derail the peace process (sic). While Biren Singh is playing innocent, he has refused to respond to media questions like: ordering police commandos to “covertly” bomb Kukis - defying MHA’s orders not to do so; instructing police commandos in May 2024 to bypass the DGP/other senior police officials; ordering that no looter of arms from the state police stations be arrested; ensuring supply of arms to unauthorised people through state assembly; opposed to most officers of the Imphal secretariat being Kuki as also Kuki judges in Manipur courts; opposed to Kukis inclusion in Scheduled Tribe; taking credit for ethnic cleansing of tribals from forest land; doubting allegations of rape by Kuki women paraded naked by a mob; and many more questions.

The Centre is in a Catch 22 situation. The MHA can’t deny what Biren Singh has been up to all these months, which implies complicity of the MHA as well. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn’t visited Manipur since violence broke out because of the negative signals emanating from there. Besides, Biren Singh (also called the Voodoo Man) may have told the Centre that Kukis may target Modi if he visits the state. But there are other reasons as well why Biren Singh is the blue-eyed boy of the MHA, one being the annual booty of narcotics trade, reportedly to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore.

Meanwhile, extortions, fear and violence continue to grip Manipur. In the mist recent incident  on February 8,  PREPAK (pro) and the Meitei proscribed group SOREPA looted two AK-47s and six SLR rifles from a Manipur Rifles post

which is no surprise considering thousands of weapons and rounds of ammunition were supposedly ”looted” from police/IRB armouries in the past – the so-called loot actually organized by Biren Singh’s administration according to ground sources and “distributed” to Meitei militant group like Arambai Tenggol and others.   

Being a government facility, what forensic analysis of the Manipur Tapes the CFSL will produce is difficult to predict – will it contradict the Truth Lab report?  Referring to the Manipur Tapes, Vishwajit Singh, Senior Advocate of Supreme Cort, this is sufficient for prima facie presumption to order investigation of Biren Singh’s role in planning and orchestrating the violence in Manipur

What happens at the next SC hearing (March 24) and beyond will be there to see, but looking at past history, the SC would adhere to what the Centre wants.

Union Minister Amit Shah recently summoned Biren Singh and some other Manipur politicians and spoke to them separately. Meanwhile voodoo-man Biren Singh travelled to Prayagraj and took a dip in Sangam in the Maha Kumbh; would it wash off the sins and cleanse his bloodied hands? Will the no-confidence motion go through tomorrow in the state assembly is also a question mark with Bihar (on Centre’s bid) calling upon the JDU MLAs to disassociate from the no-confidence motion. There would be similar pressures on other MLAs also to kill the no-confidence motion.

Finally, there are indications that no change is likely in Manipur immediately. If at all, the Centre’s blue-eyed boy Biren Singh is to be changed, he would probably be eased out smoothly. The question being asked is whether he will be appointed Union Sports Minister, given that he played football when serving in police forces?

The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.