Manipur: NIA arrests 3 insurgents linked to deadly attack on security forces in Moreh

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested three insurgents in connection with a brutal attack on security forces in Manipur last year that resulted in the deaths of two police commandos and injuries to several others.

The incident took place on January 17, 2024, when heavily armed assailants targeted an Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) post and other security personnel in Moreh, located in Tengnoupal district, near the Indo-Myanmar border.

Among those arrested is Thangminlen Mate, a key operative of the banned insurgent outfit Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal (KIT). A resident of Tengnoupal, Mate is believed to have played a pivotal role in planning and executing the assault. He was apprehended from Silchar, Assam, on May 19, 2025, and subsequently produced before the NIA Court in Guwahati. He was remanded to judicial custody and is currently lodged in Central Jail, Guwahati.

The other two accused, identified as Kamginthang Gangte, a member of the Kuki National Army (KNA), and Hentinthang Kipgen alias Thangneo Kipgen, linked with the Village Volunteers group in Churachandpur district, were arrested from Imphal on June 6, 2025. Both were presented before a Duty Magistrate and granted transit remand till June 9 for their transfer to the NIA Special Court in Guwahati.

All three were allegedly part of the group that conspired and executed the ambush, which has been classified under case number RC-05/2024/NIA/IMP.