Imphal: Security forces arrested six hardcore militants belonging to four outlawed outfits in Manipur during joint operations conducted across different districts over the past 24 hours, officials said Wednesday.
Several arms and ammunition were also recovered during the operations.
A police official Wednesday said that six hardcore militants, belonging to the banned People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), the National Revolutionary Front of Manipur (NRFM), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and its sister outfit Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), were arrested from different locations in Kakching, Bishnupur and Imphal West districts.
Several mobile phones and various other materials were seized from their possession. The arrested extremists were involved in the forcible collection of subscriptions from contractors, government employees, traders and even common people.
With this, 11 militants of four outfits were arrested by the security forces in Manipur during the past 48 hours.
Security forces also busted an inter-state narcotics racket and arrested four drug peddlers from Madhya Pradesh and Assam. The four drug smugglers were arrested from the Leinaganpokpi areas in Jiribam district, which shares an inter-state border with southern Assam, and recovered 147 kgs of narcotics and psychotropic substances, including highly addictive methamphetamine tablets also known as Yaba tablets.
The arrested drug peddlers were identified as Faruk Ali, 35, Mafij Uddin, 29, and Hanif Ali, 28, all residents of different districts of Assam and Santosh Patel, 43, a resident of Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh.
Three trucks were also seized in connection with the seizure of the drugs.
Intelligence-based combing, cordon and search operations are being carried out extensively in different Imphal Valley and mountainous districts to nab those involved in extortion and criminal activities in the state.
Security forces also recovered some arms and ammunition from the Churachandpur district. The recovered arms include an AK series rifle with a magazine, a US-made MA-3 MK-II rifle along with a magazine, an INSAS rifle along with a magazine, and a .315 rifle along with a magazine. Large quantities of different types of ammunition were also recovered from these two districts.
Security forces, comprising both Central and state forces, continue extensive crackdowns against militants, with search operations and area domination drives underway in fringe, mixed population and vulnerable areas across districts in Manipur.
