NIA arrests jailed Kuki "insurgent" in Bishnupur civilians killing case in Manipur

Guwahati: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested an alleged cadre of a Kuki insurgent group in connection with the killing of four civilians in Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district in Manipur in January last year.

A statement issued by the NIA on Sunday said the accused, Lunminsei Kipgen alias Langinmang alias Levi, a resident of Manipur, was formally arrested on Saturday from Central jail in Guwahati, where he was lodged in connection with another case.

The NIA said Kipgen was the first accused to be arrested in connection with the killing of four civilians at Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou in Bishnupur on January 18, 2023. The killings, according to the NIA, was part of the ongoing ethnic conflict that has witnessed the killing of 225 persons since May last year. The NIA had registered the case on February 9, 2023.

"Lunminsei Kipgen was actively involved in the fatal attack, which was part of the ongoing ethnic unrest and violence in the north-eastern state of Manipur. Previously a cadre of the Kuki militant outfit KNF (P), he had joined another Kuki militant organisation, United Kuki National Army (UKNA), during the current spate of violence and had participated in the ghastly killings," NIA statement said.

The assailants had opened indiscriminate fire from sophisticated weapons, leading to the tragic death of the civilians near a water treatment plant.

This came two days after the NIA arrested Thongminthang Haokip alias Thangboi Haokip, an alleged "commander" of Kuki National Front (Military Council), a Kuki insurgent group, for his alleged involvement in the ongoing conflict. The KNF-MC, however, said that Haokip was not associated with the group. The NIA claimed that he was in touch with Myanmar-based rebel groups, which aided in the ethnic conflict in Manipur.