The Assam Rifles have been actively involved in operations in Manipur (File)
Imphal/New Delhi:
The commander of a Kuki rebel group that had signed a ceasefire agreement has been arrested in Manipur for alleged drug trafficking, police said.
A first information report (FIR) has been filed against the suspect, Lemtinsei Singson, 50, commander of the United Tribal Liberation Army (UTLA), which falls under the banner of the Kuki National Organization (KNO).
The 39 Assam Rifles, who arrested Singson and recovered 124 grams of a substance suspected to be “brown sugar” or heroin hidden in 10 soap boxes, said in a report to police that they had sent out a motorcade at 8 a.m. to to intercept the arrests. accused of obtaining information about the presence of insurgents in Phaitol village in Manipur’s Tamenglong district, 145 km from the capital Imphal.
“Immediately, based on the information, a column of 39 Assam Rifles… was launched for an operation… to prevent subversive activities of insurgents in view of the prevailing law and order situation in the state,” a 39 Assam Rifles soldier who led the operation, according to his police report.
In the report, the Assam Rifles said they spotted a suspicious Bolero SUV parked near a community center and a man standing next to the vehicle. When questioned, the man said he was from Churachandpur district, 175 km away. In Churachandpur, ethnic violence began on May 3 between the hill-majority Kuki tribes and the valley-majority Meiteis.
More than 180 people have been killed in ethnic violence in Manipur (File)
The Assam Rifles said they searched the SUV to check if it was carrying weapons and found a large plastic bag containing ten soap boxes suspected to be “brown sugar” in the trunk.
The paramilitary forces said they had handed over the rebel group’s commander to police in the city of Jiribam. An Aadhaar card, voter identity card, Permanent Account Number (PAN) card and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana card recovered from Singson were also handed over to the police.
The arrest raises concerns over the alleged misuse of the SoO agreement by Kuki insurgent groups, a retired police officer told DailyExpertNews, requesting anonymity. “The Assam Rifles are doing a good job in nabbing offenders from the SoO group. This agreement does not give a free pass to illegal activities,” the officer said.
The KNO and UTLA – to which the suspect caught with the packets of heroin belongs – signed the tripartite suspension of operations (SoO) agreement between the Centre, state and umbrella groups of at least 25 Kuki rebel groups operating mainly in the hill areas of Manipur borders Myanmar and Mizoram.
The Manipur government decided to revoke the SoO agreement with two Kuki insurgent groups in March.
Under the SoO agreement, the insurgents must stay in designated camps and their weapons must be kept in a locked storage facility where they are regularly checked.
A terror suspect was arrested from Churachandpur on September 30 by the country’s top counter-terror agency in a transnational conspiracy case involving terrorist leaders in Bangladesh and Myanmar. The suspect, Seiminlun Gangte, was taken to Delhi for questioning and further investigation.
More than 180 people have been killed in the ethnic violence in Manipur and thousands have been internally displaced.