Manipur: Government freezes bank accounts of separatists who declared 'Manipur government in exile' in UK

The state government on Saturday directed that all bank accounts in the name of separatists Yambem Biren and Narengbam Samarjit Singh shall be frozen with immediate effect.

"All bank accounts in the name of separatists Yambem Biren and Narengbam Samarjit Singh shall be frozen with immediate effect," said a statement issued by the government.

The directive by the government of Manipur states that there are reasonable grounds of suspicion that the money held in their bank accounts is intended for the use of "unlawful purpose and waging war against India and Government of Manipur."

According to reports, the two separatist leaders at a press conference in London on Tuesday had produced a document showing that the titular king of Manipur had authorised them by the order no. 12 of March 15, 2013, to solve the political problems of the state.The self-claimed Chief Minister of Manipur State Council Biren and Minister of External Affairs and Defence of Manipur State Council Samarjit had announced that they were speaking on behalf of Sanajaoba to formally launch the exiled government -- the Manipur State Council.The exiled government will be based in Central London, they had said.Both of them had confirmed that they had already sought asylum in the United Kingdom in September 2019, fleeing persecution and repression by the Indian state as declaring independence in India would have led them to be arrested and killed arbitrarily by the Indian security forces."We believe that now is the right time to make public the Independent Government of Manipur before the international community to announce our independent status and seek recognition. We call on all the governments of the sovereign states of the members of the United Nations for their recognition of the de jure and exile government of the Manipur from today onwards," they had said.They had claimed that the three million Manipuri people want recognition as one of the precious native nations and their "attempts to engage with the Indian government were met with hate and hostilities.""It was not possible for us to declare the independence of Manipur while in India because we, the Councilors of the Manipur State Council, would have faced arrest, torture and extra-judicial killings at the hands of the Indian government," they had said.They had declared that Manipur is a constitutional monarchy ruled State and the "sovereign of the King of Manipur is Divine of God."The two had claimed that Manipur is being ruled through "draconian laws" by the Indian occupation government "under the Republic Constitution of India including Arms Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958".Highlighting cases of "extrajudicial killings" in Manipur, they had said: "There are more than 1,528 cases of the extra-judicial killing, which are pending in the Supreme Court of India. The victims were killed without a trial of law.