Imphal, June 9 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a person, currently lodged in Guwahati jail in another case, in connection with the killing of four civilians in Manipur’s Bishnupur district in January, an agency statement said on Sunday.

Lunminsei Kipgen alias Langinmang alias Mang alias Levi, a resident of Manipur, has been formally arrested by the NIA from Central Jail, Lokhra in Guwahati on Saturday under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Arms Act, the statement said.

He is the first accused to be arrested for the gruesome killings that took place on January 18, when armed attackers had brutally murdered four civilians including a man and his son near the water treatment plant located in Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou in mixed-population Bishnupur district. The assailants had opened indiscriminate fire from sophisticated weapons.

The NIA, which had registered the case on February 9, 2024, found during its investigation that Kipgen was actively involved in the fatal attack, which was part of the ongoing ethnic unrest and violence in the northeastern state. Previously a cadre of the Kuki militant outfit KNF-P, he had joined another Kuki militant organisation, the United Kuki National Army (UKNA), during the current spate of violence and had participated in the ghastly killings.

Further investigations into the case are continuing, the NIA said in the statement.

(This article has been published via a syndicated feed)