Amid Claims of Normalcy, Meitei Radicals Threaten Manipuri Human Rights Defender

And, a mob of at least 50 people allegedly visited Babloo Loitongbam's residence and openly threatened his family.

Babloo Loitongbam is the director of Human Rights Alert – and has been advocating for human rights for three decades.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

Meitei Leepun, a radical Meitei group, on Saturday, 21 September issued a stern warning to Babloo Loitongbam, a human rights defender and lawyer from conflict-torn Manipur, for allegedly collaborating with the Kuki community and working against the interest of the Meiteis.

Loitongbam is the director of Human Rights Alert – and has been advocating for human rights for three decades.

Speaking during a press conference at the Manipur Press Club in Imphal, Yumlembam Prabinchandra, a member of Meitei Leepun, said,

"Babloo is involved in providing shelter to the Women Wing Commander of the PDF (People’s Defence Force) from Myanmar last year before the conflict. The commander was reportedly given refuge in Imphal, where she monitored the local situation."

Prabinchandra also claimed to possess evidence of financial transactions between Loitongbam and the Kukis. The radical group also demanded that the people should distance themselves from Loitongbam, threatening consequences for anyone who associated with him.

Two days later, on the morning of 23 September, a mob of at least 50 people allegedly visited his residence and openly threatened his family. They said if Loitongham made any further public statements, his family would face serious consequences. He was not home at the time because he is currently in Delhi.

The Quint had interviewed Meitei Leepun leader Pramot Singh in his house on 9 June 2023. Singh had claimed that Kukis are "outsiders", and that the violence in the state was due to a "game designed by them." The full interview can be found here.

Speaking to this reporter, a senior security official said that Manipur Police is "aware of the matter" (of the threats issued to Loitongham) – and was "treating it like a criminal case". The Quint also called the Chief Minister's Office, but they refused to comment on the incident. A response is also awaited from the DGP office; the article will be updated as and when they revert.

The public warning to Loitongbam comes on the heels of Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on 17 September – which marked 100 days of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in office – that his government is in contact with both Kuki and Meitei groups in an effort to restore peace in Manipur.

Manipur has been in a state of civil war between the Meitei and the Kuki communities since 3 May last year. More than 200 have died, and more than 50,000 continue to be internally displaced as they reside in relief camps.

Kavita Srivastava of the People's Union for Civil Liberties told The Quint that Loitongham has been threatened multiple times in the past. "And it is not just him, anyone who is critical of Chief Minister Biren Singh is in danger of getting arrested and targeted. It recently happened with a PhD student and a few others. People don't have the freedom to criticise the government in Manipur."

The Quint has reached out to Loitongbam; the article will be updated as and when he responds.

Not the First Time

Apart from advocating for human rights, Loitongbam is also the convenor of the 3.5 Collective, a group of civil society organisations tackling the menace of narcotics and alcohol in the state. It even filed a case in the Supreme Court against the acquittal of Lukhosai Zou (former Chairperson of the Moreh Autonomous District Council) and others by the Special NDPS Court with respect to a controversial drug seizure case.

He has also been leading the struggle for the repeal of AFSPA [Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act] in Manipur. In 2012, he had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the alleged killing of 1,528 people in Manipur in 'fake encounters' by Manipur Police and the armed forces under the protection of AFSPA. The case is still pending in the Supreme Court.

The recent incidents are not the first time Loitongbam has faced threats for his work.

In an interview with NewsClick aired on 10 May 2023, just a week after ethnic violence erupted in the state, Loitongbam asserted that the emergence of “new groups called Meitei Leepun and Arambai Tenggol (another Meitei radical group)” had “injected militancy” into the Meitei community amidst the larger crisis facing the state.

Loitongbam has also been critical of Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh and his role in the conflict – and has called for his resignation.

In response to the Newsclick interview, Meitei Leepun had threatened his family members at his house. Loitongbam was not at home at the time either.

Then, in October 2023, both Meitei Leepun and Arambai Tenggol vandalised Loitongbam's house and threatened him against giving interviews to any media organisation. His brother, who was at home at the time, was forced to call Loitongbam after which an Arambai leader threatened him to apologise for his remarks.

Former Manipur Police Services officer Thounaojam Brinda was also targeted on the same day. Meitei Leepun and Arambai Tenggol members reached her residence and forced her to apologise for allegedly defaming the Meitei community.

The United Nations Human Rights office had then urged "the authorities to protect him, his family and home, and hold perpetrators accountable."

The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), too, in a letter to the National Human Rights Commission of India had demanded the immediate arrest of the members of Arambai Tenggol.

"Arrest the members of Arambai Tenggol, including the leader, who vandalised his home and intimidated the family members and the members of Meitei Leepun who illegally called for a ban against Babloo and another."

PUCL letter to NHRC in October 2023

Srivastava told this reporter that it has been almost a year and nothing has come out of the PUCL's complaint to the NHRC.

Additionally, in June 2023, the Meitei Leepun threatened Loitongbam with violence if he continued to defend the "human rights of Myanmar nationals" seeking asylum.

The Citizen’s Committee Manipur, of which Loitongbam is a convenor, had appealed to the Government of Manipur in 2021 to treat suspected Myanmar nationals “humanely, transparently and by respecting their rights guaranteed by law at every stage of the arrest and detention”.

Hollow Claims of Normalcy

Amit Shah recently stated that other than the violence that occurred in mid-September, "no major incidents have occurred in the past three months."

However, there have been multiple firing-related deaths in June, July, and August, including that of a CRPF officer.

On 1 September, drone attacks rocked Imphal West killing one woman, and less than a week later, back-to-back rocket and bomb attacks hit Bishnupur district, killing one man.

Then, six people were killed in gun violence during the early hours of 7 September in Jiribam. Instances of firing were also reported in Kakching and Churachandpur, and an ex-serviceman was killed on 8 September when he accidentally crossed the buffer zone. A woman was killed in an “explosive attack” on 8 September in Kangpokpi as well.

For more than a year, Manipur has been torn apart by ethnic violence. Hundreds have died, and thousands have been displaced, with their future still uncertain. The Quint has been relentlessly reporting on the conflict in pursuit of facts, untold stories, and the truth. Apart from the risks involved in reporting from a conflict-ridden area, such reports require both time and resources. YOUR support helps us in our endeavour.