NIA makes first arrest in January killing of four civilians in Manipur

NEW DELHI — The NIA has arrested a militant currently lodged in an Assam jail for his alleged involvement in the killing of four civilians in Manipur’s Bishnupur district earlier this year, the probe agency said in a statement on Sunday.

Lunminsei Kipgen alias Langinmang alias Mang alias Levi, a resident of Manipur, was arrested on Saturday by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Central Jail, Lokhra, in Guwahati under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act, it said.

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He is the first accused to be arrested for the gruesome killings on January 18, when armed assailants brutally murdered four civilians near the water treatment plant at Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou, Bishnupur, the NIA statement said.

“The NIA on Saturday arrested one person, currently in Guwahati jail in another case, in connection with the killing of four civilians in Manipur’s Bishnupur district,” it added.

NIA Makes 1st Arrest in January 2024 Manipur Killing of 4 Civilians Case pic.twitter.com/4SNs0LhwYh

— NIA India (@NIA_India) June 9, 2024

The assailants had opened indiscriminate fire from sophisticated weapons, leading to the civilians’ deaths, the probe agency said.

The NIA, which had registered a case on February 9, found during the investigation that Lunminsei Kipgen was actively involved in the attack, which was part of the ongoing ethnic unrest and violence in the northeastern state.

Previously a cadre of the Kuki militant outfit KNF(P), he joined another Kuki militant organisation — the United Kuki National Army — during the current spate of violence and participated in the killings, it added.