Three militants arrested in Manipur; arms cache, IEDs recovered in ongoing ops

Imphal, June 7: Security forces in Manipur arrested three militants affiliated with two banned insurgent outfits during separate operations carried out on Friday across Bishnupur, Kakching, and Imphal West districts, police said on Saturday.

According to a senior police officer, two active cadres of the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party (People’s War Group) were apprehended from Wangoo Samushang in Bishnupur and Elangkhanpokpi Mayai Leikai in Kakching district.

One of them was allegedly involved in extortion activities, targeting schools, colleges, shopkeepers, and even elected representatives in the Kumbi area.

In a separate operation, a cadre of the banned United People's Party of Kangleipak (UPPK) was arrested from Khumbong Bazar in Imphal West district.

Meanwhile, extensive search and area domination operations are underway in vulnerable and fringe areas across both the hill and valley districts. These operations have led to significant recoveries of arms and explosives.

In a major recovery, security personnel seized a cache of weapons and equipment from the Kotzim village area, located approximately 4.5 km northwest of COB Kotlen under New Keithelmanbi Police Station in Kangpokpi district.

The recovered items include:

• One US-made M16 rifle
• One bolt action rifle
• Three pull mechanism rifles
• Three improvised mortars
• Five mortar bombs
• One Motorola communication set
• One bulletproof jacket

In another operation on June 5, troops recovered four improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from an area under Tengnoupal Police Station in Tengnoupal district.

Security officials have affirmed that these operations will continue with the aim of neutralising threats and ensuring the safety of civilians in disturbed and sensitive regions of the state.

With inputs from PTI