Manipur Director General of Police Mukesh Singh has directed all district police units to adopt proactive, intelligence-led policing to reinforce law and order and sharpen counter-insurgency operations across the state, officials said on Sunday, 2 August. The directive came during a series of inspection visits to key security establishments in Imphal over the preceding 24 hours.

Battalions Inspected, Facilities Reviewed

Accompanied by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for Law and Order and Intelligence, Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo, DGP Singh visited the headquarters of the 1st Battalion of the Manipur Rifles in Imphal — one of the state's oldest units, with a legacy spanning 134 years, having been raised in 1892. During the inspection, the DGP was briefed on the battalion's history and its evolution as an institution central to Manipur's law enforcement heritage.

Singh inspected several facilities at the British-era heritage unit, including the Quarter Guard, the Manipur Police Officers' Club, the Banquet Hall, the Transport Wing, the Parade Ground, the Church, the Temple, the Canteen, and the Petrol Pump. He interacted with officers and personnel, with discussions covering unit revamping, adherence to deployment protocols, and compliance mechanisms.

The DGP subsequently visited the 2nd Battalion headquarters of the Manipur Rifles, also in Imphal, where he inspected the quarter guard, the under-construction Manipur Police Research Institute, the recreation hall, barracks, Parade Ground, and Jawans' Mess. Key issues discussed included battalion security, rationalisation of manpower deployment, and plans to replace old, dilapidated barracks with new construction.

Law and Order Review at Imphal West SP Office

Singh also convened a meeting at the office of the Superintendent of Police, Imphal West District, where SP Shivakanta Singh briefed the DGP on prevailing law and order conditions, crime trends, and ongoing policing initiatives in the district.

During the review, the DGP directed officers to ensure prompt and professional investigation of criminal cases, with particular focus on offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, extortion, and arms-related cases. He also emphasised improving investigation quality to strengthen prosecution outcomes.

Professionalism and Public Confidence at the Core

Singh urged all officers to uphold professionalism and integrity, and to project a positive image of the police through efficient, people-friendly service. According to an official statement, he stressed that strengthening public confidence is as critical as operational effectiveness in maintaining peace across the state.

Notably, the Manipur Police is described in official communications not merely as a law enforcement body but as an institution integral to the state's history and institutional reforms — a framing that underscores the symbolic weight attached to these inspections.

Background: New DGP, Ongoing Outreach

Mukesh Singh, who previously served as Director General of Police in Ladakh, assumed charge as Manipur's police chief on 1 June. Since taking office, he has conducted a sustained series of visits to districts in both the Imphal Valley and the hill regions, meeting senior police officers, Army personnel, paramilitary forces, and officials of various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to assess law and order conditions and operational readiness.

This comes amid an extended period of ethnic unrest in Manipur that has strained security resources since mid-2023. Singh's district-level outreach signals a deliberate effort to rebuild institutional cohesion and ground-level intelligence networks. How quickly those efforts translate into measurable stability will be closely watched in the months ahead.