Three militants arrested from banned outfits in Manipur.
Arms and eight IEDs recovered in Tengnoupal.
Operations continue amid fresh violence in Ukhrul.
Security forces have arrested three militants linked to proscribed insurgent groups in Manipur and seized arms and explosive devices as fresh ethnic violence continues to simmer in the state’s hills.
Acting on specific intelligence, joint teams of police and security personnel apprehended two active cadres of the banned Kangleipak Communist Party (Apunba) from Imphal West and Imphal East districts on Friday. A third suspect, a member of the outlawed People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), was arrested from his residence in Moirang Khunou in Bishnupur district, police said.
During a follow-up operation in the Khulsaibung hill range of Tengnoupal district, security forces seized a single-barrel gun, two pistols and eight improvised explosive devices (IEDs), underscoring concerns about armed elements in the region.
There has been renewed violence in Ukhrul district, where long-running tensions between the Tangkhul Naga and Kuki-Zo communities have erupted into arson and gunfire since early February. Authorities imposed curfew and, at one point, suspended internet services for several days in the violence-hit areas as dozens of houses were torched and residents fled amid the unrest.
The fresh clashes in and around Litan Sareikhong village were triggered by a local dispute that quickly took on an ethnic dimension, prompting security deployment and internet suspension in the area.
Security officials said operations against militant networks and armed groups will continue as part of efforts to stabilise the volatile situation in Manipur’s hill districts.
Popular government was formed in Manipur on February 4, with Yumnam Khemchand Singh sworn in as Chief Minister. He is assisted by two Deputy Chief Ministers, Nemcha Kipgen, the first woman and first representative from the Kuki-Zo community to hold the post, and Losii Dikho, Legislative Party Leader of the Naga People's Front, a key ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
(With Inputs from PTI)
