Manipur Police finalise plan to destroy poppy in 516 villages

Manipur Police have drawn up a plan to destroy illegal poppy plantations in 516 villages across 10 districts of the state, with help from other security forces, a senior officer said on Tuesday.

Briefing reporters in Imphal, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo said anyone found involved in poppy cultivation would face serious legal consequences, according to a PTI report carried by ThePrint. He described the illegal crop as a driver of environmental destruction and a public health crisis, and a source of money for crime and armed conflict, and sought cooperation from all sections of society.

Police did not name the 10 districts or give a timeline for the drive at the briefing.

Why poppy matters in Manipur

Poppy, the source of opium and heroin, is grown largely on hill slopes in Manipur, and its cultivation has long been tied to the drug trade across the India-Myanmar border. Clearing forests for the crop has also been blamed for soil loss and drying water sources. The state has carried out repeated destruction drives in recent seasons, and some districts have set local deadlines for growers. On Sunday, authorities in Kangpokpi district announced a deadline and reported destroying about 45 acres of poppy on the Thangjing range.

The new plan covers a much larger area and is meant to be carried out jointly with central forces, as the planting season for the crop gets under way in the hills.

Taphou killings: NIA transfer awaited

On the killing of two Kuki youths from Taphou Kuki village, Lhatoo said a proposal to hand the case to the National Investigation Agency was at an advanced stage and orders were awaited. Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh had earlier said the NIA would take over the probe.

Lhatoo said police registered an FIR immediately, examined witnesses and questioned a large number of people. Search operations led by senior officers involved police, CRPF, CoBRA, BSF, Assam Rifles and the Army. The two bodies were found in a jungle in Senapati district, about 14 km from the national highway, and operations to arrest those responsible were continuing, he said.

More central forces on the way

The ADGP said additional CRPF companies had been requisitioned from the Centre and would arrive soon, allowing deployment in vulnerable areas such as Govajang. CRPF personnel have just moved into the Chalwa area, he added.

On complaints of extortion along National Highway 37, Lhatoo said police and security forces were working to keep convoys safe, and appealed to people not to obstruct them when they act against extortion.