Imphal: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested another accused involved in the abduction and death of six women and children of the Meitei community in Manipur’s Jiribam last year, the agency said on Friday.
The NIA apprehended Lalrosang Hmar alias Rosang — a resident of Moinathol village and Dilkhosh Grant of Cachar, Assam — from Mizoram’s Aizawl on Thursday, according to a statement issued by the probe agency.
The arrest came hours after another key accused named Thanglienlal Hmar was held by a joint team of the NIA and the Assam police in Aizawl.
“Three women and three children were abducted and brutally murdered by militants in the Borebekra area of Jiribam District of Manipur on November 11 last year. The bodies were disposed of in the Barak River. Like Thanglienlal, Lalrosang was also an active conspirator in the heinous crime. The NIA has recovered from him a mobile phone, along with a SIM card, and is examining the same as part of its continuing investigation in the case,” it said.
On Friday, the Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee (ITAC), a body constituted by All Tribal Civil Society Organisations in Pherzawl and Jiribam districts, issued a statement expressing concern and condemning what it termed “the arbitrary arrest of two Hmar civilians.
“This arrest, much like the arbitrary detention of other Kuki-Zomi-Hmar tribals, is yet another stark illustration of selective prosecution and targeted harassment of Hmar tribal innocent civilians under the guise of national investigation. It further exposes the deeply entrenched bias within the central agencies and the judicial mechanisms…that seem to be operating with impunity and clear partiality in favour of the dominant Meitei community amidst the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur,” it alleged.
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Earlier this week, the NIA submitted two reports in sealed covers to the Manipur High Court on the progress it has made in the probe into the abduction and death of six women and children of the Meitei community. Taking the reports on record, the court asked the agency to file a chargesheet within a month.
