The Manipur government, led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, tried to fuel the ethnic violence between Kuki and Meitei communities instead of stopping it, audio clips obtained by The Wire indicate. According to the report, Biren Singh purportedly claims credit for “starting the operations” and that Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked him to “stop using bombs.” According to the 48-minute audio clip, Biren Singh allegedly asks for proof for the rape of two Kuki-Zo women, despite him acknowledging the authenticity of the photos. The Manipur government has denied all allegations and stated that the audio clip leaked was fabricated.
The report states that sources from the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs told The Wire that the audio clip was submitted to the Commission along with an affidavit attesting to its authenticity from the person(s) who made the recording at the chief minister’s official residence. The commission was established to investigate the Manipur violence, which has killed more than 200 people since the conflict began in May 2023.
As per the leaked recordings, a voice believed to be that of Chief Minister Biren Singh can be heard describing a conversation between Amit Shah and him. The discussion revolves around the use of “bombs” in the state and Biren Singh defying the HM’s orders and shielding militants who stole weapons from state police armouries.
The conversation goes like this: (as reported in The Wire)
“When Amit Shah came here, he asked:
‘Biren ji!’
‘Haan sir!’
‘Arre! Tum bomb marta hai?’ [laughter in the background]
All heard, you see! ‘Bomb marta hai?’ Means, from that day onwards, he instructed [me] to stop using bombs. Mat marna (You are using bombs? Don’t use them). ‘Bombs mat use karna’, he instructed [us] by summoning the DG [DGP] and all.
After he [Shah] left, I told them, Hoi! Chupke se karna hai, open nahi karna hai (It should be used covertly, not openly.) If you don’t trust me, check with the commandos on the frontline.”
But a senior IPS officer still in service at Imphal told The Wire that no senior officer had asked commandos to use bombs in Kuki areas.
In the same 48-minute audio, Biren Singh can be heard raising doubts over the incident where two Kuki-Zo women were paraded naked by a mob in Kangpokpi district in May 2023, that they were molested and raped. The shocking video that revealed the intensity of the Manipur conflict surfaced in July 2023.
According to the report, he can be heard saying, ““Hoi! We could have asked where is the proof, how can you say that they were raped? The brother and the uncle were killed by a mob of a lakh…Ah! By 10-20 thousand people…we should have said it was us, the Meiteis, who had saved them from the mob. We should have said that, it was unsatisfactory. We should have taken the credit for saving them, clothing them, and sending them home.”
The recording also indicates that the Chief Minister advocated aggressive actions against the Kuki people, raising concerns about his responsibility for the violence. The report also notes the political dynamics at play, with Singh allegedly taking credit for military actions and using social media to inflame sentiments. According to the report, Biren Singh expressed great distress over the Kuki population increasing and getting into good positions in government jobs.
“When I saw all of these, I started operations…At the secretariat, we don’t have our people because of their quota, they have filled up the IPS, IAS. They are all there in the IAS service…In the Secretariat, there are 12 secretariat officers and of the 12, there are 11 of them [Kukis],” The Wire quoted from the audio clip.