Manipur Election 2022: Meet Thounaojam Brinda, ex-woman cop who took on drug mafia, now in poll fray

Manipur Election 2022.

A decorated cop.

A crusader against drug mafia.

A well-known face in Manipur.

Meet Thounaojam Brinda.

A former police officer, known for her campaign against drug lords of Manipur, who has now joined the political fray to continue her fight to make her state “drug-free, corruption-free.”

Four years ago, Brinda made headlines for busting several drug cartels and being awarded a Police Medal for Gallantry.

Today she is contesting upcoming Manipur elections as a Janata Dal (United) candidate from Yaiskul constituency of Imphal East.

Manipur will vote in two phases On February 27 and March 3.

Brinda resigned from her job as additional superintendent of police in 2021 after run-ins with the powers that be.

Brinda famously faced a criminal contempt case for allegedly showing her “middle finger” to a Narcotics court special judge – a charge that she has refuted.

She told PTI that her foray into electoral politics “was due to the urgent need to save the state and its youths from corruption and malpractices compounded by the wide-spread drug abuse and narco-terrorism.”

A 2012 batch Manipur Police Service officer, Brinda says that while in service she was consistently harassed by those who are in power thereby crippling her ability to deliver as a law enforcer.

Brinda has also made clear her opposition to the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act which she claimed “was for subjugation and violation of human rights” and sought its repeal.

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