Three personnel of Rapid Action Force suspended in Manipur

Three personnel of the central government’s Rapid Action Force, deployed in violence-hit Manipur, were suspended on Saturday for allegedly trying to torch a meat shop in a tribal locality of Imphal on Friday night.

The suspension order came on a day the army chief, General Manoj Pande, arrived in Imphal on a two-day visit to Manipur, which continues to be in turmoil following the May 3 outbreak of violence between the mainly Hindu Meiteis and the tribal and mostly Christian Kukis.

The suspended personnel of the RAF, a specialised wing of the CRPF trained to handle riots and control crowds, are Somdev Arya, Kuldeep Singh and Pradeep Kumar.

They were allegedly caught on CCTV trying to torch the shop around 9.30pm in the New Checkon tribal locality of Imphal East district.