The post of the

Assam Rifles The Assam Rifles (AR) is a paramilitary force of India responsible for border security, counter-insurgency, and maintaining law and order in Northeast India and in Jammu & Kashmir in lines of Rashtriya Rifles. Its primary duty involves guard ...

near Oinam village,

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

, was attacked and looted by the

National Socialist Council of Nagaland The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is a Naga militant and separatist group operating mainly in Northeast India, northeastern part of India, with minor activities in northwest Myanmar. The main aim of the organisation is reportedly ...

(NSCN) on 9th July, 1987. This act resulted in the killing of nine jawans of the post and the looting of a large amount of machinery and

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

. In response to this act, and to retain the looted

firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...

, Operation Bluebird was launched by Indian Army officials. The search operation continued for more than three months until October 1987 in more than 30 villages but no arms and ammunitions were recovered.

History

However, the villagers were brutally tortured, human-rights were violated on a large scale during this period and even pregnant women were forced to give birth to their babies in the presence of the jawans. Innocent villagers were tortured by the high-ranked military officials and even some of them were buried alive after third degree torture. More than 300 people claimed to be

tortured Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions restrict torture to ac ...

, 3 women claimed to be raped and 5 claimed of being molested. The villagers were also forced to prepare food for the soldiers for more than 2 months until the villagers ended their

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

stocks. After months of suffering the villagers requested the regional government for help, to which the CM of Manipur wrote to the Home Minister and even met Prime Minister

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

regarding the torture and killing of the villagers by the soldiers of

. But this step enraged the military officers and they even tried to trap the Chief Minister, and other MP and MLA's in false cases of being involved in Anti-Nationalist Activities. Later,

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

against the army officials was filed by the villagers in the

Gauhati High Court The Gauhati High Court was promulgated by governor general of India on 1 March 1948 after the Government of India Act 1935 was passed, establishing the high court with effect from 5 April 1948, for the then-province of Assam. It was originall ...

. For more than 28 years, no action was taken on this case and later, due to the absence of any other records except the pleadings of the villagers it was discarded.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bluebird, Operation 1987 murders in India Conflicts in 1987 Insurgency in Northeast India 1980s in Manipur Looting in India Military operations involving India Extrajudicial killings by the Indian military Indian military scandals Crime in Manipur Torture during wars Deaths by live burial Wartime sexual violence in Asia Rape in India Rape in the 1980s Violence against women in India Attacks on military installations in India Attacks on military installations in 1987 Torture in India