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New Indian Express
19-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Manipur riot accused held in Kerala by NIA sleuths
KANNUR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested a Manipur native from Thalassery in connection with multiple cases linked to Manipur riots, including murder. Rajkumar Maipaksana, 21, was apprehended by a five-member NIA team disguised as health workers. Rajkumar, working at a major restaurant in Thalassery town for the past two weeks, was picked up from a rented house in Keezhantimukku, Thiruvangad, where hotel workers stay. His identity was confirmed through his Aadhaar card and other documents. According to reports, Rajkumar had reportedly undergone armed training with the banned militant outfit United National Liberation Front (UNLF). He was identified by a distinctive tattoo on his neck, just below the ear. 'The NIA had been monitoring his movements for a few days. They tracked him down after he started using his mobile phone in Thalassery,' said the hotel owner.
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Time of India
Manipur cracks whip on extortion rackets, 350 ultras held in 3mths
PTI photo IMPHAL/NEW DELHI: Security forces in Manipur have arrested more than 350 insurgents during intensified crackdown on extortion rackets that have taken an unusual turn, with groups mainly from the Valley now demanding money to resolve matrimonial disputes, along with traditional targets like property and 'cuts' in govt tenders, officials said on Sunday. The insurgents were picked from mid-Feb this year after the imposition of President's rule in the state. A clear instruction has been issued by the governor's administration to the general public to report any extortion attempts to police or face legal consequences for aiding the insurgents. The officials said investigations against the more than 350 people arrested in the crackdown indicate that insurgent groups, feeling the pressure from security forces post-President's rule, are becoming more desperate for funds and more brazen in their methods. The majority of insurgents have been nabbed from Imphal East, followed by Imphal West in the valley. It's just about money, and for that, they settle personal scores, family feuds and even matrimonial disputes. If you have a problem, and you have the right connections, they become your 'solution' but for a price, of course, the officials said. Recently, a person codenamed 'Tiger' was picked up from Imphal East by Manipur police while he was busy settling a matrimonial dispute with family members of a bride and groom, the officials said. Later, he was identified as Laishram Ramesh Singh, belonging to the banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF). During preliminary verification, he told the police that he joined the organisation in Sept 2024 and is presently working in its 'finance section'. The officials said he confessed to being involved in extortion activities by serving monetary demands and threats and by collecting money from government officials located in and around the Imphal area, besides collecting 'cuts' from business houses who had been allotted various government tenders. Two mobile handsets and Rs 21,50,000 of extortion money were recovered from him. The officials said the insurgent groups were exploiting technology and one of the tactics involved obtaining SIM cards with false documentation from any northeastern state and using them to make Voice over Internet Protocol calls routed through Wi-Fi networks.
Hindustan Times
18-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
More than 350 insurgents nabbed in Manipur; extortion rackets target marriage and property disputes
Imphal/New Delhi, Security forces in Manipur have arrested more than 350 insurgents during intensified crackdown on extortion rackets that have taken an unusual turn, with groups mainly from the Valley now demanding money to resolve matrimonial disputes, along with traditional targets like property and "cuts" in government tenders, officials said on Sunday. These insurgents were picked from mid-February this year after the imposition of President's rule in the state. A clear instruction has been issued by the governor's administration to the general public to report any extortion attempts to the police or face legal consequences for aiding insurgents. The officials said that investigations against the more than 350 people arrested in the crackdown indicate that insurgent groups, feeling the pressure from security forces post-President's rule, are becoming more desperate for funds and more brazen in their methods. The majority of insurgents have been nabbed from Imphal East, followed by Imphal West in the valley. It's just about money, and for that, they settle personal scores, family feuds and even matrimonial disputes. If you have a problem, and you have the right connections, they become your 'solution' but for a price, of course, the officials said. Recently, a person codenamed 'Tiger' was picked up from Imphal East by Manipur police while he was busy settling a matrimonial dispute with family members of a bride and groom, the officials said. Later, he was identified as Laishram Ramesh Singh, belonging to the banned United National Liberation Front . During preliminary verification, he told the police that he joined the organisation in September 2024 and is presently working in its "finance section". The officials claimed that he confessed to being involved in extortion activities by serving monetary demands and threats and by collecting money from government officials located in and around the Imphal area, besides collecting "cuts" from business houses who had been allotted various government tenders. Two mobile handsets and ₹21,50,000 of extortion money were recovered from him. The officials said the insurgent groups were continuously evolving and exploiting technology and one of the tactics involved obtaining SIM cards with false documentation from any northeastern state and using them to make Voice over Internet Protocol calls routed through Wi-Fi networks on WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. The victims would receive a call, seemingly from across the border, and be given a code. They were then instructed to hand over the demanded money to whoever presented that code, the officials said. In some of the instances, some shady civil society groups were involved in the collection of extortion amounts that were subsequently passed on to the insurgent groups after some cuts, the officials said. President's rule was imposed in the northeastern state in February this year under Article 356, following the resignation of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, a move meant to bring order in the state hit by ethnic strife. But the path to peace was proving to be a treacherous one, said an official and reasoned that the immediate trigger may have been the escalating violence between the Valley-based Meitei community and the Hill-based Kuki-Zo groups but beneath the surface there was a more insidious problem the rampant extortion by insurgent groups, both Meitei and Kuki, that had plagued Manipur for years. The Assam Rifles, which is also an important pillar of the law and order machinery in Manipur, has arrested 77 such insurgents indulging in extortion, including seven from Hill-based groups from Churachandpur. The officials said that the extortion was mainly being carried out by the cadres of the banned UNLF, People's Liberation Army , Kanglei Yawol Kanba Lup and People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak in the state. These near-dormant Meitei groups saw resurgence during the turmoil that rocked the state in May 2023. They said that, at present, the UNLF has a cadre strength of 530, followed by PLA with 450, and KYKL with 25, who are active within the groups of the majority community. While the UNLF has in the past been largely involved in extortion, targeting contractors and businessmen, the PLA, which initially took shape under the name of 'Polei', the ancient name of Manipur, had an aim to "liberate Manipur" and establish an independent Meitei land in Imphal valley. The KYKL, which runs on extortion and openly supports other terror groups, is considered a mercenary group with no ideology and cadres mainly drawn from criminals and drug addicts. The PREPAK, which has been banned by the government for its secessionist ideology of so-called liberation of Manipur and whose funding mainly comes from extortion of businessmen, especially pharmacies, indulged mainly in drug trafficking and smuggling. This terror group is also involved in extortion on behalf of the PLA and the UNLF and passes the amount after retaining a share. Among the Kuki-based groups indulging in extortion and drugs are Chin Kuki Mizo Army and Chin Kuki Liberation Army .
The Hindu
18-05-2025
- The Hindu
Manipur riots accused held by NIA in Thalassery disguised as health workers
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a 21-year-old Manipur native, Rajkumar Mypaksana from Thalassery in connenction with the Manipur riots case. He was taken in custody at 5 p.m. on Friday (May 16, 2025) while working in a local hotel, where he had taken up a housekeeping job in Thalassery just a few days back. Mr. Rajkumar, hailing from Imphal, was tracked down by the NIA after days of surveillance. Posing as health officials conducting routine monsoon disease checks, the NIA officers visited workers' lodgings and demanded identity verification. Mr. Rajkumar was apprehended after his Aadhaar card and a distinctive tattoo on his neck helped confirm his identity. He is reportedly trained by the proscribed United National Liberation Front (UNLF), a banned militant group, and is related to a case registered in Imphal linked to the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur. Sources said he offered no resistance and complied with officers calmly after realising he had been arrested. The arrest comes after months of investigation by the NIA, which reportedly did not alert the Kerala police prior to the operation. Officials also recovered a fake passport from Rajkumar, which he had allegedly attempted to use to travel abroad via Tirur, but failed. According to initial investigations, Mr. Rajkumar arrived in Thalassery after responding to a job advertisement by a hotel management on social media. His familiarity with English and Hindi, helped him blend in with the recruitment of several youths from Manipur. Sources said that Mr. Rajkumar arrived in Kerala last month and had travelled across several district before settling temporarily at a rented house in Manjodi, Thiruvnagad in Thalassery. The arrest is part of a larger probe into the ethnic violence that rocked Manipur, with the NIA continuing to track individuals linked to extremist outfits. His arrest took place at 5 p.m on Friday.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
3 Manipur rebels held for murder, arson
Guwahati: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday said it has arrested three cadres of Manipur's three proscribed valley-based insurgent groups in separate cases of murder, abduction and arson cases in the state the took place during the peak of the Meitei and Kuki-Zo violence in last two agency said two of them — Nongthombam Meiraba from Bishnupur district and belonging to United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and Sagolsem Sanatomba @Surchandra Singh @Piba of Thoubal district who is a member of Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) — have been arrested "for their involvement in the brutal killing of a woman and burning and looting of houses by armed militants in Zairawn village in Jiribam district of Manipur in November last year. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "While Meiraba was "involved in the actual shooting of the woman, identified as Zosangkim," the other accused, Sanatomba, was part of the team involved in the carnage, NIA duo are currently in NIA custody and their remand is till May NIA added that another accused, Waikhom Rohit Singh, a cadre of Kangleipak Communist Party-People's War Group faction, who was earlier nabbed by security forces on April 30, is currently in judicial custody after completing his remand with the was arrested in a murder and abduction case relating to the ethnic clashes that took place in the state in to the NIA statement, in November 2023, a CRPF team deployed on naka duty in Kangchup Chingkhong area of Imphal West district had detained a vehicle carrying five persons belonging to one of the two main communities involved in the ethnic clashes in the state."A large mob of angry persons belonging to the rival community had then gathered around and forcibly taken away four of the individuals while one had managed to escape. The bodies of three of the four persons were recovered later," the NIA NIA, which had taken over the case in Feb 2024, is continuing with the investigation, it added.
