Imphal: Manipur Police have arrested four militants, who belong to militant organizations.
According to the police, the arrested militants were allegedly involved in arms smuggling, and they recovered a huge quantity of modern weapons from the militants.
Two of the arrested militants are members of the Meitei group Arambai Tengole (AT) and 11 sophisticated weapons have also been seized from them, police said.
Large quantity of weapons recovered
Police said that members of Arambai Tengole were arrested in Imphal West district on Saturday. They are allegedly accused of smuggling weapons and carrying out illegal activities. Seven HK33 rifles, two M4A1 carbines, two .45 pistols, 40 empty magazines of various types and 100 cartridges of .45 caliber have been seized from the militants. The arrested persons have been identified as Laishram Tondomba Singh (27) and Torangbam Amarjit Meitei (20), both residents of Lamding Mamang Leikai in Thoubal district. Both the militants were produced in court which remanded them to nine days of police custody. Kuki groups have accused Arambai Tengole of being widely involved in ethnic violence in the state.
Two PRO militants also arrested
The Manipur Police has also arrested two militants of the banned PREPAK (PRO) outfit in separate operations in Imphal East and West districts. The arrests were made on Sunday from Takhel Awang Leikai in Imphal East district and Imphal West district, police said. The security forces seized three grenades, 53 cartridges of different calibres and a material suspected to be an IED during an operation at Kanto Sabal in Imphal West district on Saturday. Ethnic violence between the Meitei people living in the Imphal Valley and the Kuki people living in the surrounding hills in Manipur since May 2023 has left more than 260 people dead and thousands homeless.