The man who allegedly participated in the killing of six Meiteis in the manipuro district of Jiribam was arrested in a joint operation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Assam Police, the officials said on Thursday.
The accused, identified as Thanglienal Hmar aka Boya, is a resident in the village of Moinathol in the Cachar district. According to Cachar Senior Superintendent of Police Mahatta, he was arrested after specific news entries.
Hmar is suspected of playing a key logistics role in the “kidnapping and subsequent killing” of six victims – three women and three children, Mahatta added.
“He was actively involved in the transport of victims and armed attackers to the place where they were killed,” he said.
He used his ship to transport the victims along with three armed attackers, all dressed in camouflage uniforms, from Jakuradhar Ghat to Kaisalpunjee Village Ghat in Jiribam.
NIA has watched HMAR movements for several months and its arrest is considered the main development in this case.
“We are determined to ensure that everyone is involved in killing and supporting the central agency,” Mahatta said.
HMAR is currently in custody of NIA and is interrogated to collect more information about the network of individuals who have made the attack easier.
The victims were later found murdered and their bodies were recovered in November last year from three different areas near the Assam-Manipur border.
On the day of these six persons, 10 suspicious militants were killed when meeting with security forces, and their bodies were later brought to Assam for postmortal examination.
This incident stimulated the existing ethnic tension between the groups of Meiteis and Kuki-Zo, which began to spread to Assam.
The Assam government subsequently increased security arrangements along the border.
The Ministry of the Interior transferred the case to NIA in December last year and the central agency identified several individuals for their alleged involvement in killing.
(Tagstotranslate) manipur
