Amid the fresh violence being reported in Manipur, at least three central government’s Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel have been suspended on Saturday for allegedly trying to torch a meat shop at a tribal locality in Imphal district.
According to reports, four people, including three RAF personnel attacked a meat shop in the New Checkon area in Imphal on May 26 and as per allegations, they attempted to set the shop on fire.
The entire incident was captured on CCTV when the personnel, dressed in civilian dress, along with one driver attempted to set the shop on fire.
Following the incident, Manipur Police arrested the four persons for committing arson in the area.
The three RAF personnel were then suspended with immediate effect after they were arrested.
The suspended personnel have been identified as Kuldip Singh, Pradip Kumar from Haryana and Somdev Araya from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. The personnel was notably deployed in Manipur after violent clashes between two communities were reported in the state.
Meanwhile, the fourth person, who was also involved in the incident, has been identified as S Bhupendra Singh from Imphal East. He worked as a driver for Indian Reserve Battalion (IRBn).
It may be mentioned that following the fresh violence in Manipur, the Indian Army and Assam Rifles had intensified domination across the state.
So far, around 60 people have lost their lives in the ethnic violence that hit the state earlier this month. Houses have also been burnt during the violence with new incidents also reported from some parts of the state.
