GUWAHATI: The Nationwide Investigation Company (NIA) is investigating two circumstances of assaults on police and arms loot in strife-torn Manipur involving the chief of Arambai Tenggol (AT), a radical Meitei group, accused by Kuki-Zo teams of orchestrating assaults on the group because the begin of ethnic violence between the 2 sides in Could final yr.
The 2 circumstances towards Korounganba Khuman, the controversial chief of the outfit, are among the many eight circumstances associated to the Manipur violence that had been shifted from the particular NIA court docket in Imphal to Guwahati on the orders of the Supreme Courtroom on Tuesday.
NIA had requested the highest court docket to switch the circumstances given the safety scenario in Manipur.
“The motion of the victims, witnesses, accused individuals and their defence counsels to the particular NIA court docket (in Imphal) is fraught with bodily dangers… the protection and safety of the accused individuals may be at grave peril with the mobs making an attempt to intrude and disrupt the work of investigation groups and even the judicial course of,” NIA mentioned in its switch petition earlier than the Supreme Courtroom.
In accordance with the NIA, Khuman led a gaggle of AT cadres “armed with refined weapons, sticks and different lethal weapons” carrying police uniforms and camouflaged attire got here in a number of automobiles and assembled on the Palace Compound in Imphal East district round 5:30 pm on November 1 final yr.
The mob had gathered following Khuman’s submit on Fb, which when translated from Meitei, meant “please come all courageous brothers, allow us to educate them a closing lesson immediately”.
“After they had been stopped by the Imphal East police on the palace gate, the group fired at police, overpowered the native police and proceeded by Sanjengthong bridge in the direction of Imphal West facet in lots of gentle automobiles,” NIA mentioned in its FIR.
The second case towards Khuman was a continuation of incidents associated to the primary one on November 1. In accordance with NIA, the AT chief and his supporters went to the northwestern gate of the first Manipur Rifles (armed battalion) and ransacked authorities workplaces and belongings together with automobiles and looted the arms and ammunition from the first Manipur Rifles battalion.
“After the arrival of reinforcement of safety forces together with civil police, Assam Rifles and CRPF, the assailants escaped with arms and ammunition looted from safety personnel,” the FIR mentioned.
Each circumstances had been lodged by NIA in February this yr.
The FIR charged Khuman and his associates with armed rioting, obstructing public servants, snatching, theft, legal conspiracy, terrorist act, looting of firearms from police/safety pressure and unauthorised use of police/defence uniform.
Shaped in 2020 as a socio-cultural outfit, Arambai Tenggol has metamorphosed right into a radical Meitei outfit aimed toward defending the pursuits of the group utilizing violent means, if wanted.
In accordance with officers who spoke on situation of anonymity, Arambai Tenggol has additionally grown since Could 2020 and has a number of thousand energetic members within the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley. The group enjoys mass help from the group and has been accused of finishing up assaults on Kuki-Zos, and in some cases, focused Nagas and even Meiteis against their ways.
The group was within the highlight in January this yr when it summoned all Meitei MLAs, MPs and ministers to a gathering on the Kangla Fort in Imphal on January 24 and compelled them to take an oath to guard Manipur’s integrity and signal a six-point record of calls for. When 3 MLAs, together with two from BJP and the state Congress chief Okay Meghachandra refused to conform, they had been assaulted by AT cadres.
Although he retains showing in social media posts and addresses gatherings in Imphal, not a lot is understood about AT chief Khuman’s background besides that he was beforehand a authorities contractor and is in his late thirties.
