Guwahati: Thounaojam Brinda, former police officer best known for her anti-drug lord campaign in Manipur, who has now entered politics to continue her struggle to make her state “drug-free and corruption-free.” Brinda made news four years ago after breaking several drug cartels and receiving a Police Medal for Gallantry.
On Tuesday, Brinda was making her waves announcing her intention to run as a Janata Dal (United) candidate in the Imphal East district’s Yaiskul constituency in the next assembly elections, which will be held in two parts. On the 27th of February and the 3rd of March.
According to National media reports, Brinda who quit as an extra superintendent of police in 2021 amid clashes with the powers. She entered electoral politics “to safeguard the state and its youths from corruption and malpractices compounded by widespread drug (abuse) and narco-terrorism.” Though she had no intention of entering politics in the early years of her profession, she decided to do so after receiving “great popular support” not only from her area but from across the state.
Brinda is a Manipur Police Service officer from the 2012 batch who is recognised for her bravery in fighting drug mafias that cross life in the state.
The former cop stated that while on the job, she was constantly harassed by persons in positions of power, which hampered her ability to perform her duties as a law enforcement officer.
She claimed that, in addition to upsetting prominent individuals with her anti-drug crusade, she was frequently excluded “from the mainstream in the department and labelled as an anti-national due to my father-in-role laws as an insurgent commander.”
Brinda is the daughter-in-law of RK Meghen, the former chairman of the state’s separatist United National Liberation Front (UNLF). Meghen, who was sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence, was released in 2019 from a Guwahati prison for his numerous contributions, which included the construction of a library and a music school within the prison, and now leads a normal life.
“I was denied maternity leave due to discriminatory harassment.” “Their plan was to make me resent the treatment and, as a result, leave the profession,” she explained.
Brinda rose to prominence after leading high-profile narcotics bust in June 2018, which resulted in the arrest of then-Chandel Autonomous District Council Chairman Lukhosei Zou and seven others.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh then presented her with a police medal for her role in the narcotics and cash seizure. When Zou and six other defendants were acquitted by the Special Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court in December 2020, she returned the prize in protest.
“We need a plan of action to cope with the state’s current drug epidemic,” she stated. Poppy cultivation is cultivated by farmers in hill ranges that are difficult to access, thus substituting another crop is not as viable as it has been suggested.” Drug cartels and those who cultivate poppies are well-protected by violent groups, making taking them on a difficult task, according to Brinda, who added that “a totally new approach based on scientific investigations is required.”
She also emphasised the importance of strong political will in destroying “thousands of acres of poppy production” and closely monitoring the worldwide drug traffic.
“I’ve organised a research team in the hopes of developing a feasible approach that will eventually eliminate extensive poppy planting in Manipur’s hills,” Brinda said.