NIA arrests second accused in 2024 Jiribam killings
National Investigation Agency
(NIA) has arrested a second key accused involved in the abduction and killing of three Meitei women and three children from Manipur's Jiribam district last year.
The agency, in a statement on Saturday, said accused Lalrosang Hmar alias Rosang of Moinathol village and Dilkhosh Grant of Cachar in Assam were arrested in Aizawl on Thursday.
"The arrest came close on the heels of the arrest of another accused, Thanglienlal Hmar, by a joint team of NIA and Assam Police," the agency added.
Both the accused belong to the Hmar tribal community. The NIA said, "Like Thanglienlal, Lalrosang was also an active conspirator in the heinous crime. The NIA has recovered from him a mobile phone along with a SIM card and is examining the same."
The case originated from the Borebekra police station (Jiribam district), where according to the police FIR on Nov 11 last year, unknown militants set fire to houses, killed two civilians and abducted three women and three children — all from the Meitei community.
All the victims were later found murdered — their bullet-riddled bodies disposed of in the Barak river bordering Assam. The NIA later took over the FIR under orders from the ministry of home affairs, citing the grievous nature and conspiracy aspect of the attacks. The case is being treated as a terror case arising from ethnic violence in Manipur.
Tribal organisations — Hmar Women's Association and Kuki-Zo Council — have protested the arrests, calling the arrested persons innocent civilians with no criminal record.
The NIA has reported 'nearly complete' probe and 'critical progress' in the case, though no chargesheet has been filed yet. The Manipur High Court has been monitoring the case closely following a PIL.
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