Guwahati/Imphal, June 9 – The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested three insurgents for their alleged involvement in the deadly ambush on security personnel in Manipur’s Tengnoupal district earlier this year, which left two police commandos dead and several others wounded.
The attack, which took place on January 17 in Moreh—a conflict-prone town on the Indo-Myanmar border—targeted an Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) post and was described by officials as a “carefully coordinated assault.”
The arrested individuals have been identified as Thangminlen Mate of the Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal (KIT), Kamginthang Gangte of the Kuki National Army (KNA), and Hentinthang Kipgen alias Thangneo Kipgen, associated with the Village Volunteers group in Churachandpur.
According to NIA officials, the insurgents played key roles in orchestrating and executing the ambush alongside other members of their respective groups. “This was a planned and calculated attack on security forces. The arrested individuals are critical to unraveling the broader network behind it,” said a senior NIA officer.
Thangminlen Mate was tracked and arrested from Silchar, Assam, on May 19. He was presented before the NIA court in Guwahati and has since been remanded to judicial custody at the Central Jail in the city.
The other two accused, Gangte and Kipgen, were apprehended in Imphal on June 6. A duty magistrate granted them transit remand, and both are being shifted to the NIA Special Court in Guwahati for further proceedings.
The arrests mark a significant breakthrough in the investigation, which is being handled by the NIA following the grave nature of the attack and its implications for national security in a sensitive border region.
“The operation is far from over,” the NIA official added. “Searches and raids are continuing to apprehend remaining suspects and dismantle the entire network responsible for the ambush.”
The January 17 attack came amid heightened tensions in the region, where various insurgent groups operate across porous borders with Myanmar. The NIA took over the case shortly after it was registered, citing the need for a specialized and high-level probe.
Security forces remain on high alert in Tengnoupal and surrounding districts as the crackdown against insurgent activity continues.
