The arrest of five United National Liberation Front-Pambei insurgents and recovery of several US-made firearms from different parts of East Imphal on June 24 with the Manipur Police and other security forces suspecting that the weapons may have originated in Myanmar.
Based on “credible information” about the “presence of arms smugglers, dealers and middlemen in the greater Imphal area”, the East Imphal police, led by Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Balwal, launched a discreet operation in the early hours of June 24.
A police team encircled the house of one Lanchenba Nongthombam (24) at Nongmeibum Ayanpalli locality. It was later “verified” that this person had sold the firearms and assorted ammunition “without maintaining requisite documentation” and by using “fake and forged” papers.
Nongthombam’s interrogation revealed that he had received one “undocumented firearm along with ammunition” from one Sinam Somendro Meitei alias Pankhei alias Richard of Thangmeiband Sinam Leikai as also Louru Purel Leikai.
A police team then moved to Thangmeiband Sinam Leikai where Somendro was “detained” and questioned. Somendro admitted that he was an “active member of the UNLF-P” in which he was a ‘Lieutenant Colonel’.
He disclosed that he joined the UNLF-P in 1995 and underwent arms training as part of the outfit’s ‘12th batch’ in 1997.
Somendro, official documents accessed by Northeast News show, revealed to his interrogators that the UNLF-P was in a “peace agreement” with the Manipur and central government.
An immediate search of the premises where Somendro lived unearthed a cache of US-made weapons, including Smith and Wesson, Sig Sauer, Glock, Browning, Keltec and Berretta guns with assorted ammunition, besides three iPhone 16 mobile phones and a Baofeng wireless handset were seized from Somendro’s house.
While the Imphal East police continue to look for leads that could lead them to other UNLF-P members in Manipur, central security agencies have begun tracking the information that could take the trail to Myanmar.
They are especially trying to focus on some of the Myanmar insurgent groups that operate in regions bordering Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram.
“We are especially focusing on the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Arakan Army,” an official said.
Manipur investigators were able to establish that the weapons were in the possession of one Henthoi of Jiribam and Rajkumar Abothe Singh of Singjamai Chirom Leikai in Imphal West.
Another person, identified as Rameshwor Thokchom of Kongpal Mutum Leikai, was also arrested by the police.
The arrest of the four persons has prompted Manipur-based security agencies to dig into the suspects’ political linkages as at least one such individuals is closely related to a senior Manipur politician.
One of those arrested, Lanchenba Nongthombam, is a nephew of an influential Meitei politician.
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It appears that the case involving the four accused persons could proceed following “information” that Punjab and Bihar law enforcement agencies provided to their Manipuri counterparts.
While the UNLF-P is said to have earlier supplied arms to other insurgent and criminal groups within and outside India, security agencies are trying to ascertain whether any of the arrested persons is linked to Khundongbam Lanjingba who was arrested earlier for his involvement in bringing in an arms consignment from Myanmar.
Lanjingba, police sources said, was in a Myanmar jail between 2010 and 2012.
