Daijiworld Media Network - Imphal
Imphal, Aug 13: Security forces, in a series of joint operations across Manipur, arrested six militants belonging to different banned outfits and recovered arms, ammunition and other incriminating materials during the past 24 hours, officials said on Thursday.
A senior police official said the six militants were apprehended from Kakching, Imphal West and Thoubal districts during coordinated operations conducted by the Manipur Police and Central forces, including the Assam Rifles.
The arrested militants belong to the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), People's Liberation Army (PLA) and its political wing, the Revolutionary People's Front (RPF), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and United Kuki National Army (UKNA).
According to the police, the arrested militants were allegedly involved in various unlawful activities, including kidnapping, forcible collection of "subscriptions" and recruitment of youths into the banned outfits.
Security personnel recovered incriminating documents, subscription receipts, cash, seals, letterheads of the banned outfits and other materials from their possession.
An AK-series rifle with magazine, 12 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, a 9 mm pistol with magazine, a Baofeng radio set and a Royal Enfield motorcycle were recovered from two arrested UKNA militants.
In a separate operation in the tribal-inhabited Senapati district, security forces recovered another cache of arms and ammunition. The haul included five single-barrel breech-loading guns, a 9 mm pistol, two Chinese hand grenades, 13 rounds of ammunition of different calibres and 33 empty cases.
Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested an accused in connection with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack on a residential house in Manipur's Bishnupur district.
The incident took place at Tronglaobi Awang Leikai in Moirang, Bishnupur district, on April 7 this year and resulted in the deaths of two minor children and injuries to their mother.
According to Manipur Police, a five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister were killed, while their mother sustained serious injuries when suspected Kuki militants allegedly hurled a powerful bomb at their home in Tronglaobi village while the family was asleep.
A Manipur Police official identified the NIA-arrested militant as S Palal Kuki, a resident of Old Gelmol village in Churachandpur district, and alleged that he had been involved in subversive and terrorist activities prejudicial to the security of the state and the nation.
"During the course of examination, the arrested militant admitted that he was the self-styled Finance Head of the UKNA outfit," the official said.
Meanwhile, security forces comprising Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Manipur Police have continued extensive counter-insurgency operations, including searches and area-domination exercises, in fringe, mixed-population and other vulnerable areas across the state.
As part of intensified security measures, 111 nakas and checkpoints have been established across the valley and hill districts to monitor the movement of militants, anti-social elements and suspicious vehicles.
Security forces are also providing armed escorts to trucks and other vehicles carrying essential commodities along the strategically important Imphal-Jiribam National Highway (NH-37).
Strict security arrangements and convoy protection continue along vulnerable stretches of the highway to ensure the safe and uninterrupted movement of passenger and goods vehicles.