A lady 'super cop' in Manipur who took on the drug mafia in the state has drawn a lot of attention that even Union Home Minister Amit Shah flew down to campaign for the BJP candidate she is contesting against in East Manipur. However, she seems unfazed.
Thounaojam Brinda will be taking on BJP's incumbent MLA and current Manipur law minister Thokchom Satyabrata Singh on a Janata Dal (United) ticket.
The Manipur Legislative Assembly Elections for 2022 will be held on 28 February.
A Cop Popular With the Youth
Thounaojam Brinda is being seen as someone undettered by candidates from bigger political parties.
Responding to questions on Amit Shah campaigning in the area, she said, "I take it as a compliment that the BJP's sitting minister needed the Union Home Minister to campaign against me. My fight is against the drug menace and corruption. As a cop, I was not able to do much for the people. I want to create an impact in the state assembly."
Shah was seen doing door to door campaign against Brinda in the Yaiskul Assembly seat in Imphal East, Manipur.
Brinda had accused the BJP-led government of being in nexus with a narcotics cartel.
The woman cop seems confident of victory. “Congress is a dying party in Manipur, tried and tested. The present MLA Thokchom Satyabrata Singh of BJP has not done much except for providing paper-thin blacktopping to the road. My challenge would be from the candidate from the Nationalist Peoples Party (NPP) rather than the BJP representation,” said Brinda.
She enjoys enormous support among the young population.
Brinda told The Indian Express that she wanted to achieve her political vision by empowering the youth and women, and ensuring equality for all, including the LGBT community.
Brinda has been compared with Irom Sharmila, the face of resistance in Manipur.
Crusader Against Drug Cartels
Brinda is a 2012 batch Manipur Police Service officer who was seen as a crusader against drugs.
In 2018, she became famous after she seized drugs worth Rs 27 crore in a high profile case. She led the operation of the anti-narcotics unit of the Manipur police where she was the deputy chief.
She left the police force after a fallout with Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who she accused of helping a drug lord.
The cop told media that if voted to power her priority would be to stop the drug cartels in the region.
First Cop From Narcotics Division in Manipur to Be Honoured With a Gallantry Award
Brinda is the first police officer from the narcotics division in the history of Manipur to be decorated with a gallantry award. However, later she returned the award in protest after the special Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) court in Manipur acquitted former ADC chairman of Chandel Lukhosei Zou and six others in a high profile drug haul case.
Her letter read, "I feel morally inclined that I have not conducted my duty as ‘per the wishes’ of the Criminal Justice Delivery System of the land. Hence, for the reason cited above, I do not consider myself deserving of the honour bestowed upon me by your good self.”
Infamous Father-In-Law
Brinda’s husband Rajkumar Chinglen is a software professional. Her father-in-law, RK Meghen aka Sanayaima is the former chairman of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), who led an armed movement against the state.
Meghen, who was sentenced to a long jail term, was released in 2019 from a Guwahati prison for his many works including building a library and a music school inside the jail and now lives a normal life.
She has told in press interactions that her family background has influenced her public image. “People have questioned my integrity and dubbed me as an anti-national. However, I have only been working for the protection of constitutional rights and will continue to do so,” she said.
Local media reports suggested that after she announced her decision to join electoral politics, her father-in-law said he did not support it.
She had resigned from service in 2016 citing discrimination, harrasment and suspicion for being the infamous “daughter-in-law”.
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