Two Kuki Independent Army active freedom-fighters arrested

Imphal: Two active freedom-fighters of the banned Kuki Independent Army/Kuki Independent Organization (KIA/KIO) were allegedly responsible for looting arms and ammunition from a camp designated as Operation Suspension (SoO).

The arrests were made in a pre-planned operation by Loktak Battalion, Assam Rifles of Churachandpur sector on Thursday at a hideout in Mongjang village of Churachandpur district, bordering Myanmar in the south.
An official statement said that some indiscriminate documents were also recovered from his possession.

Acting on specific inputs, troops of Assam Rifles under the auspices of Inspector General of Assam Rifles (South) launched an operation to terrorize the cadres, a defense wing statement said on Thursday. .

The statement added that the arrested cadre along with recovered items have been handed over to Churachandpur police station for further investigation.
However, the identity of the arrested persons has been kept secret.

This is the first major success of the country’s law enforcers after a joint team of law enforcement agencies engaged in an armed encounter with operatives of the outlawed Kuki Independent Army/Kuki Independent Organization (KIA/KIO) and recovered five sophisticated weapons from them.
On April 16 last, an alleged KIA operative and a civilian were injured in an exchange of fire in Songphu village under Henglep Sub-division of Churachandpur district of Manipur, bordering Myanmar.
Notably, the KIA is a non-SoO and is also responsible for looting 25 weapons from designated camps of KNF-Z, UTLA and USRA, which are under tripartite negotiations with the governments under the SoO.

The commander-in-chief of KIA/KIO Davidson Haokip was earlier wanted by the police with a reward of Rs 50,000.