Manipur: Police arrest six militants of banned outfit; arms recovered in Churachandpur, Lamzang

Manipur Police arrested six militants of the banned outfit Kangleipak Communist Party (People's War Group) in the Imphal East district, reported PTI citing an official statement on Wednesday. These militants were involved in illegal arms transactions and extortion from the general public, firms, government,etc. The security forces also seized arms from two locations in separate incidents.

According to the police, the militants were involved in extortion and arms trafficking. Along with arresting the militants, the security forces also recovered a four-wheeler, two two-wheelers, six mobile phones and a total of ₹3,88,950 from their possession, reported PTI.

In another operation, illegal arms were seized from different locations in the state. The security forces conducting search operations in Churachandpur district discovered two local-made guns, two electric detonators, a 9 mm pistol with magazine and three hand grenades.

In another search operation in Lamzang forest hill range near Bongbal village, security forces recovered a .303 rifle, a single-barrel (12 mm) shotgun.

Manipur conflict

The northeastern state continues to suffer because of the ongoing ethnic clashes between Kuki and Meiti communities. According to PTI, more than 200 people have been killed in ethnic violence in Manipur since May 2023.

Recently, Kuki groups wrote a letter to thePrime Minister and the National Commission of Human Rights, urging their intervention to ease the conflict situation in Manipur, which has been racked with ethnic violence since last year.

The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights (KOHUR), in its letter, accused the Meiteis of launching a "majoritarian mayhem" to grab the tribal land.

"It is neither the first time nor going to be the last; the Constitutional Protection and the Human Rights of the Tribal people had been violated and abused time and again," it said. The community members had also attested several news clippings and other reports of violent clashes and incidents

The letter also contained several news clippings and reports on the violent incidents in the northeastern state.

"The current state-sponsored Meitei war is not only anti-human and anti-tribal but also anti-constitutional and anti-national that your kind intervention would surely help in preventing them from going further," the KOHUR said.