In a significant crackdown across Manipur, police authorities arrested six militants and confiscated a large cache of weapons in a coordinated operation aimed at curbing insurgency and maintaining law and order across the state.
The operation began on October 3 with the detention of 23-year-old Leimapokpam Marjit Singh, alias Khaba, at his residence in Hiyanglam Makha Leikai. Singh is suspected of recruiting youths for the banned Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) and its armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Authorities seized a mobile phone believed to contain evidence of recruitment activities in Kakching district.
The crackdown also led to the arrest of 44-year-old Wangkhem Santikumar Singh, a senior RPF/PLA cadre from Bishnupur district, and two additional operatives, aged 31 and 27, from Imphal West’s Chingmeirong area. Police allege the men were running an extortion racket, coercing residents over debt disputes. Recovered items included a loaded .45 Glock pistol with 11 rounds, three mobile phones, Rs 1.26 lakh in cash, a four-wheeler, and related documents.
On October 4, two 44-year-old members of the Kangleipak Communist Party (PWG) were arrested in Imphal East district for extortion targeting hospitals, government officials, and civilians.
A separate raid in Kotlen, Kangpokpi district, led to the seizure of a substantial weapons cache, including a Heckler & Koch G4 rifle, four other firearms, two improvised mortars, two hand grenades, and a tube launcher.
