New Delhi: Among several incendiary statements heard on an audio recording submitted to the Commission of Inquiry on the violence in Manipur is one so explosive that if eventually authenticated and confirmed it could lead to the owner of the voice being accused of expressing support for banned terror outfits and thus falling foul of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA – India’s anti-terrorism law.
The voice is heard in the recording clearly referring to at least two Meitei outfits banned under the UAPA — the PLA (People’s Liberation Army of Manipur), and PREPAK (People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangelipak) — and claiming credit for having “made all of them join together… with the commandos”.
In other words, the man in the recording says he “made” the state security forces come together with at least two groups – considered terrorist by the Government of India – during the ethnic conflict that has so far claimed over 200 lives, and displaced at least 60,000 people belonging to both the Meitei and Kuki communities.
The maker/s of the recording have said in a sworn affidavit to the commission that the voice belongs to Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh. The state government denies this and The Wire cannot independently authenticate the voice on the recording.
If the Justice Ajai Lamba commission, now in possession of the full recording, is able to establish its veracity, the BJP’s Biren Singh would be in the invidious position of being perhaps the first sitting chief minister in the sensitive, insurgency-prone north-eastern region to be liable for investigation for not just violating the sacred oath he took to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of the country but also for support to ‘unlawful or/and ‘terrorist’ organisations as listed in the UAPA.
What does the audio clip say
Since this particular segment of the audio recording is in Meiteilon, The Wire took help from a native speaker of the language to translate it into English. The voice is heard saying the following:
“Commandos…those underground people at frontline…made all of them join together. I am telling you…revealing the truth, the PLA, U this …that, Pambei’s people, PREPAK and every other…with commandos, I let them all join together.
“People scolded me from Bazar (women’s market Ema Keithal in Imphal, which was at the forefront of the ethnic conflict) not knowing I have done so much. So let us form a team…since you people can work from outside…for Manipur. Those who would not join politics …lets first save our land…politics we can do later….Lets save our ‘Jati’ first…”
As stated in the first part of the Manipur Tapes, The Wire is unable to independently establish that the person heard speaking on the recording about the violence in Manipur is indeed Biren Singh, but we have confirmed the date, subject and contents of this meeting with some of the participants, none of whom was willing to be identified because of fears for their safety. Some persons claiming to have been participants at the meeting held at the chief minister’s official residence sometime last year, assert that the voice is indeed that of Biren Singh and that he did say all the things in the recording in their presence.
In the controversial audio clip, all Meitei armed groups mentioned purportedly by the voice of Singh except the Pambei faction of the UNLF (United National Liberation Front), belong to the banned list of the central government under UAPA. Unlike most Kuki insurgent groups – which are under Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreements with the Union government – none of these proscribed groups from Manipur have so far formally agreed to enter into any peace talks with New Delhi till their demand for sovereignty of Manipur is put on the discussion table. In other words, these groups can be termed secessionist under Indian law. Unlike members of the SoO Kuki groups, those from these outfits, typically, therefore, can’t move around freely overground.
Centre’s curious peace agreement with UNLF (P)
In the recording, made last year, the voice also mentions — “U this…that, Pambei people” — which is likely a reference to the UNLF (United National Liberation Front), the oldest Meitei insurgent group which over the decades has seen multiple splits. The Pambei faction of the UNLF is one among several armed groups that have been involved in insurgent activities in the state. Although the Pambei faction is not a banned outfit unlike PLA and Prepak, many violent acts are attributed to it and its leader is believed to be incarcerated in Myanmar.
In an unusual turn of events, the Pambei faction entered into a peace agreement with the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) in November 2023, during the thick of the ethnic conflict in the state. Taking to X on November 29, Union home minister Amit Shah declared:
“A historic milestone achieved!! Modi govt’s relentless efforts to establish permanent peace in the Northeast have added a new chapter of fulfilment as the United Liberation Front (UNLF) signed a peace agreement, today in New Delhi.
“UNLF, the oldest valley-based armed group of Manipur, has agreed to renounce violence and join the mainstream. I welcome them to the democratic processes and wish them all the best in their journey on the path of peace and progress.”
Shah glossed over the fact that the Pambei faction is just one among several factions of the UNLF. It is, however, the first Meitei armed group to enter into a ceasefire with the government.
On X, Shah shared photos of some of the arms and ammunition and of cadres belonging to the faction, to confirm the development. Curiously, the faction’s chief, Khundongbam Pambei, was missing from the ‘historic’ moment.
According to reliable sources in the Manipur police, “Pambei is currently incarcerated in a Myanmar jail.” The Wire is not able to confirm this claim. Most militant outfits from Manipur – including those from the Meitei community – are said to have camps in Myanmar. The area of interest of these Meitei groups is typically the valley districts of Manipur.
Read the four other ‘Manipur Tapes’ reports here, here, here and here.
What made the peace agreement more significant was the apparent short-life of that “historic milestone” as announced by Shah. Barely three months after his announcement on X, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) – which reports to Shah’s ministry – arrested three top leaders of the Pambei faction on March 13, 2024. “According to reliable sources, a joint operation involving the Assam Rifles, Manipur Police commando, including NIA personnel, conducted the operation in the early hours of the morning in the Kwakeithel area under Singjamei police station. The detained individuals were subsequently transported by a special flight to New Delhi in the afternoon,” reported the Ukhrul Times.
As per the chief minister’s recent statement in the state assembly, the NIA is handling 13 cases related to the ethnic conflict in the state. Were the March 2024 arrests made because of their participation in the ethnic conflict against the Kukis?
Significantly, this April, a PTI report had said that security officials had “expressed concern” about “violence perpetrated by” the Pambei faction of UNLF even though it had signed a ceasefire agreement with the central government. The report had said, “Officials said that the group has failed to disclose the number of its cadres who were supposed to be kept in a secure area and they have not surrendered their weapons either.”
Modi govt lifted AFSPA from valley areas
What makes these statements extremely significant is also because it suggests the PLA and Prepak – banned groups under the UAPA – can now function freely in the valley areas of Manipur.
On April 1, 2022, the Modi government, citing the improved security situation, had lifted the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act — (AFSPA) — from 15 police stations located in the Meitei-dominated valley districts of Manipur. That decision was made for some districts of Assam and Nagaland too, also citing improved security situation.
Announcing the decision on X then, Shah had stated: “In a significant step, GoI under the decisive leadership of PM Narendra Modi Ji has decided to reduce disturbed areas under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the states of Nagaland, Assam and Manipur after decades”.
On March 24, 2023, AFSPA was removed from four more police stations in the valley areas of Manipur. Addressing reporters in Imphal then, Biren Singh had said, “This historic moment was achieved, following the era of peace and prosperity that came in the state with the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government in Manipur”.
Only the hill districts of Manipur, which are populated by various tribes of the state including the Kukis and Nagas, now have the “disturbed area” status under AFSPA. This means the army and Central forces can carry out anti-insurgency operations and arrests of suspects only in the hill areas.
In September 2023, when the Manipur government extended the status quo, a report in The Hindu had said, “It comes despite the army’s demand for the re-imposition of AFSPA in the valley districts, arguing that its absence had hampered operations against insurgent groups.”
The news report added, “After a lull of many years, these groups (Meitei) are said to have regained a foothold in the State during the current wave of ethnic violence”.
In this context, the contents of the audio clip gain immense significance. In June 2023, there were media reports of a “women-led mob” in the valley areas of Manipur forcing the Army to release 12 “militants” belonging to another proscribed Meitei group, KYKL (Kanglei Yawol Kunna Lup).
The Wire had obtained a copy of the audio recording, which runs into about 48 minutes in total, from a well-placed source in July 2024, and has transcribed and translated its contents. The Wire had, however, refrained from publication until it was told that the same has been placed on the record of the official Commission of Inquiry set up under the law. The Commission was set up by a notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on June 4, 2023.
The date and time of the recording as well as the circumstances under which it was made at the chief minister’s official residence have been provided to the Commission in the affidavit but The Wire is withholding from publication any particulars that might help lead to the disclosure of the deponent/s’ identity and endanger their security. The deponent/s have also sought confidentiality from the Commission citing the sensitivity of the content and possible threat to their life and limb, which has been granted, The Wire has learnt.
Thus the issue is now a contested one before a statutory Commission – with makers of the tape asserting the identity of the voice to be Biren Singh’s and Singh’s government denying it. As such this issue too is a matter of public interest.
Given the compelling public interest involved in the contents of this recording – both for the people of Manipur and the rest of India – The Wire is placing key excerpts in the public domain.
A precedent for President’s Rule
While it is for the Commission to take the audio recording to its logical end, there is a precedent from the 1990s when the Union government decided to dismiss a state government in the Northeast on similar charges against a state home minister, followed by army operations to clear the area of a powerful armed group.
On November 28, 1990, barely a month before the first Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) government under Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was to complete five years in office after signing the “historic” Assam Accord with the Rajiv Gandhi government, the Chandra Sekhar government, supported by the Congress from outside, clamped President’s Rule on Assam; the Indian army was then asked to go after the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) after declaring it a banned outfit.
By then, ULFA had carried out several extortion demands particularly from the tea companies. Despite its activities, the group had not been banned by the earlier V.P. Singh government most likely because the AGP was a part of the United Front coalition and had a central minister in Dinesh Goswami.
In 2018, Mahanta had told this correspondent on record that though he met the prime minister in New Delhi and requested him to instead declare elections in the state which would be due in a month’s time, Chandra Sekhar didn’t agree because he was “convinced about the need to clamp President’s Rule in Assam after watching a video shot by R&AW featuring home minister Bhrigu Phukan taking a salute at an ULFA event.” That incident was later corroborated by senior AGP (now BJP) leader Atul Bora who was a PWD minister in the first Mahanta government. Bora had told this correspondent on record that he too was invited by Phukan, then the home minister, to attend the ULFA event held in Golaghat district but he refused the invitation. This finds reference in a book published as far back as 2019.
Mahanta had told this correspondent that Prime Minister Chandra Sekhar had showed him the video during his meeting with him in New Delhi which also had clips of ULFA cadres “getting arms training from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) of North Burma.”
A day after that meeting with the prime minister, President’s Rule was imposed on Assam – which set off the first central action to take control of Assam’s fast deteriorating law and order situation due to an alleged nexus between the state home minister – who controlled the state police – and ULFA.
Interestingly, that declaration of President’s Rule came just a day after the fall of the V P Singh government, which suggested that the intelligence agencies were waiting for an opportune time to strike at ULFA and were only waiting for a political consensus arrived at due to a threat to national security in a border state, and also breaking of the sacred oath by a state home minister to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the country as mandated by the Constitution.
Questions to the Chief Minister’s Office
In view of the seriousness of the statements made in the audio recording, which has been claimed under law by the deponent’s to be of Manipur chief minister, The Wire has sent the following questions to Biren Singh’s office for a response; will be added if received:
A) What is the actual status of the PLA and PREPAK? Are you aware of these groups working together with the police and/or other security forces under the command of the Manipur government in the areas bordering the hill and valley districts?
B) What is the status of the UNLF (Pambei) and what is the role you played in the group signing a peace agreement with the Centre? Are there plans for the UNLF (Pambei) to be deployed with state police commandos in the areas bordering the hill and valley districts?
