IMPHAL, April 15: Addressing members of the Arambai Tenggol at an event in Imphal, Manipur’s lone Rajya Sabha MP and titular Meitei king, Leishemba Sanajaoba, said the group would “be ready for the call to defend our land” at any time, despite having publicly handed over some of its weapons to the police.
The BJP leader made the remarks during the closing ceremony of a football tournament organised by Arambai Tenggol on Sunday in Imphal West. The outfit has been accused by Kuki-Zo groups of leading violent attacks against their community and is currently under investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in multiple cases.
“Arambai Tenggol was established to defend our land, culture, and identity. We are not anti-national or against anyone. Our real intention is to defend and protect Manipur and India. However, we were compelled to take a role that we never intended to. Some may say that Arambai Tenggol have surrendered their weapons and are living as civilians. But, at any given time, we will be ready for the call to defend our land,” Sanajaoba is purportedly heard saying in a video from the event.
During the Governor’s amnesty period for the return of looted arms, the group had surrendered 246 weapons in a single day in February. However, only 106 of these were sophisticated weapons, while the remaining were single- or double-barrel or country-made weapons.
