SPOs demand authorities to clarify on their future

IMPHAL, Dec 25 : The controversial SPO issue is once again rearing to boil over if a public complaint by one of the SPOs, Elangbam Bigyananda who spoke to the media at the Manipur Press Club today is anything to go by.

Bigyananda said he is one of the 300 SPOs recruited on July 19, as part of the state government`s move to arm civilians to resist coercive pressures by various militant groups in the wake of indiscriminate firing at Heirok during a Yaoshang Thabal Chongba this year which left three dead and another blind.

He said initially the training for the newly recruited SPOs which began on July 19 at the Manipur Police Training School, MPTS, Pangei was to be for one month, but the Manipur DGP who had come to the MPTS on a visit declared the duration of the training would be extended to three months.
He said six months later, there is still no information if the training was to conclude and the SPOs given posting and duty. He said the SPOs are also not provided enough winter clothing and as they are not given permits to visit home, have been managing with whatever little they brought along when they were first recruited. This was not too bad during warmer seasons, but now that winter is here, it is proving to be a torture for those undergoing training, he said. They have been having to resort to sharing blankets between four or five persons, he lamented. He called upon the authorities to look into the matter with the warning that failing this would compel the SPOs to decide on what to do all on their own. Further he said the SPOs were recruited for the protection of Heirok, but because of inordinate delays in the completion of the construction of barracks for them, the training period too have been reciprocally extended. This has introduced an uncertainty amongst the new recruits about the direction of the future they are heading for. They are also worried if their duties would go beyond providing security for Heirok alone or whether they would be made to do the same duty as other state forces, he added. He said the SPOs have already made several representations explaining and demanding an answer as to their worries to several relevant authorities, including the chief minister, MPTS director, SP Thoubal, SP Imphal East but no response have been forthcoming. He said the SPOs will wait till December 30 for an answer from the authorities on the matter after which they will decided on their own course of action. He said the state government`s total apathy to their fate is extremely unfortunate as they have incurred the wrath of militant organisations in deciding to accept the government`s SPO plan. Stating some of the instances of the hardship not only them but the entire Heirok area had to suffer, he said villagers of Heirok have now been forbidden by various militants from doing commerce outside their village; no students from the village is allowed to pursue studies outside the village in other parts of the state; no passenger buses have been allowed to ply to or from Heirok. And now, the government is leaving those who decided to take a plunge against terrorism in the lurch, he said.