Manipur: Audio allegedly featuring CM N Biren Singh meant to incite communal violence, says police

The Manipur Police on Monday claimed that an allegedly incriminatory audio clip claiming to be that of Chief Minister N Biren Singh was doctored and reiterated that its circulation was meant to incite communal violence in the state and “derail peace initiatives”.

The content had been widely shared on social media and in news reports by The Wire, said the police.

In the 48-minute audio clip allegedly recorded during a meeting at the chief minister’s residence in late 2023, a voice purported to be that of Singh is heard taking credit for “how and why the conflict started” in Manipur, The Wire reported in a three-part series on Monday.

According to The Wire, the person in the audio clip, alleged to be Singh, can be heard bragging that he had defied Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s order against the use of “bombs” in the conflict and shielding individuals who snatched thousands of weapons from the state police armouries from arrest.

The individual in the audio recording, The Wire said, can also be heard doubting the complaint filed by two Kuki women paraded naked by a mob in Kangpokpi district in May 2023, alleging that they were raped.

Singh is also Manipur’s home minister, which brings the state’s police under his command.

Also read: Manipur’s descent into civil war: How Scroll reported on a year of deadly violence

The Manipur government said that...

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