17 Militants Arrested in Three Manipur Districts

IMPHAL:
The Manipur Police have arrested 17 militants from three different districts and recovered cars, two-wheelers, and cash amount from the extremists of different outfits, officials said here on Monday.

A police official said that 13 militants were apprehended on Sunday from Imphal West district, while three extremists were nabbed in Imphal East district and one from Tengnoupal district, bordering Myanmar.

Of the 17 militants arrested, three are women cadres.

According to the official, the militants belonged to the National Revolutionary Front of Manipur (NRFM), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), United People’s Party of Kangleipak (UPPK) and Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL).

The arrested militants were involved in extortion of money from officials, contractors, traders and common people, transportation of arms and ammunition and various other crimes.

The police personnel also recovered 14 mobile phones, two cars, one two-wheeler, Rs 1.07 lakh cash amount and many incriminating documents.

The official said that joint search operations by the Army, paramilitary and other Central and state forces continued in more than 10 districts to recover the looted arms and ammunition.

The security forces also conducted area domination in the fringe, vulnerable, mixed populated areas of hill and valley districts to apprehend the militants and other armed cadres.

Meanwhile, the situation in five hilly districts, including Kangpokpi, Churachandpur and Tengnoupal, remained tense but calm.

A police official in Imphal said that a huge contingent of security forces, comprising both Central and state forces, have been deployed in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, Pherzawl and Jiribam districts.

On Saturday, at least 43 people, including 27 security personnel, were injured and a protester killed during the clashes in Kangpokpi and a few other districts as the Kuki-Zo tribal organisations protested against the resumption of the bus services between Imphal and the hill districts to alleviate public inconvenience and as an initiative to bring back normalcy in the state.