INDIA. Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended militant Seiminlun Gangte (51) from Churchandrapur, Manipur, on charges of collaborating with foreign militants to wage war against the Government of India by exploiting ongoing ethnic tensions in Manipur.
At the Patiala House Court in New Delhi on Sunday, Duty Magistrate Komal Garg remanded Gangte to NIA custody until October 3. The NIA filed the FIR (RC 24/2023/NIA/DLI) against him on July 19.
He was arrested in the Phuoljang area. Previously, he had worked as an English teacher at a private school in Kwakta. However, after violence erupted in May, he found employment at a godown in Churachandpur and was involved in transporting goods for the proprietor, Kamaluddin, who resides in Kwakta.
Gangte is the primary suspect in the Kwakta bomb blast case, where an explosion occurred in an SUV parked at Kwakta in Bishnupur on June 21, injuring three civilians.
In contrast to Bishnupur in the valley, Churachandpur is a hill district where the Kuki-Zo community predominates. Ongoing inter-district boundary disputes have resulted in frequent clashes between these two communities since the violence began in Manipur on May 3, claiming at least 175 lives so far. Kwakta, on the other hand, is predominantly inhabited by Meitei Pangals, or Muslims.
Terror groups in Myanmar and Bangladesh have been providing funds for the procurement of arms, ammunition, and other terrorist hardware to Manipur militants with the aim of sowing discord among ethnic groups and waging war against the Government of India.
These arms and munitions are sourced both from across the borders and from terrorist outfits active in certain Northeastern states, according to the NIA statement.
Notably, the NIA detained Moirangthem Anand Singh (45), another suspect, on September 22 in Manipur in connection with a global conspiracy by the leadership of terror groups based in Myanmar to wage war against the Indian government. The NIA registered a suo moto case against him on July 19 in New Delhi, which led to his arrest.
Singh was one of the five individuals apprehended on September 16 in Kongba by Manipur Police for possessing weapons looted from a police armory. He is reported to be a former cadre of banned outfits, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur and the Kangleipak Communist Party (Noyon) (KCP).
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