Security Agencies Avert Major Attack On Forces And Civilians In Manipur

New Delhi: Security agencies engaged in counterinsurgency operations in the Northeast on Monday claimed to have averted a major attack on security forces and civilians by Manipur-based insurgent outfits.

In a major arms haul, security agencies based in Manipur recovered 365 arms and 1376 ammunition in July.

“We believe that the arms and ammunition recovered from several places in Manipur could have been used to attack the security forces and civilians,” a senior official aware of the present situation of Manipur told ETV Bharat.

It is worth mentioning that Manipur is currently under President's Rule. And the President Rule has again been extended for another six months in the State from February 13.

Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai, has recently informed the Rajya Sabha that eight months since President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur in February, only one incident of violence has been reported.

Disclosing about the recovered arms and ammunition from different places in Manipur, the official said that many of the arms are manufactured in China.

During the same period, the security agencies have also arrested 55 insurgents from different places in the northeast, including Manipur.

“We are trying to find the origin of the recovered arms and ammunition from the arrested insurgents,” the official said.

The recovery of foreign-made arms and ammunition assumes significance following the fact that many such arms were involved in the ethnic violence in the State. In fact, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also been investigating a few cases over the involvement of foreign militants in Manipur violence.

Investigation into the case with RC 24/2023/NIA/DLI by NIA revealed that, Myanmar and Bangladesh based militant groups had earlier entered into a conspiracy with a section of militant leaders in India to indulge in incidents of violence with an intention to drive a wedge between different ethnic groups and to wage war against the Government of India.

The federal agency has already arrested Seiminlun Gangte in a case related to a transnational conspiracy by Myanmar and Bangladesh-based terror outfits to wage war against the Government of India by exploiting the current ethnic unrest in Manipur.

“And for this purpose, the aforementioned leadership have been providing funds to procure arms, ammunition and other types of terrorist hardware which are being sourced both from across the border, as well as from other terrorist outfits active in North Eastern States of India to stoke the current ethnic strife in Manipur,” the official said.

The NIA has also arrested one Moirangthem Anand Singh in a similar case related to a transnational conspiracy by the Myanmar-based leadership of terror outfits to wage a war against the Government of India by exploiting the current ethnic unrest in Manipur.

Investigation into the case RC 23/2023/NIA/DLI revealed that Myanmar-based insurgent groups have been recruiting Over Ground Workers (OGWs), cadres and sympathisers to augment the strength to carry out attacks on security forces and opposing ethnic groups by exploiting current unrest in Manipur.

Talking over the development, renowned security expert Brigadier BK Khanna told ETV Bharat that forces inimical to India’s security would always try to create terror in the country.

“Due to its proximity to Myanmar, Manipur has always remained a sensitive region. What has aggravated the woes of the security agencies is the fact that the India-Myanmar border is totally porous and it gives the insurgent organisations an advantage to move freely,” said Brigadier Khanna.

He, however, said that the intensified patrolling along the border areas has proved as a strong deterrent against the free movement of the insurgents.

The India-Myanmar border is a 1,643 kilometre land border, and northeastern States like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram share their border with Myanmar.

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