Alleged Involvement in Trans-National Conspiracy and IED Blast Case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Seiminlun Gangte, a private school teacher from Churachandpur district, in connection with a case of a trans-national conspiracy by Myanmar-Bangladesh based militant groups. Additionally, the NIA has also found his alleged involvement in a suspected IED blast case in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, which resulted in injuries to three persons, including two minor boys, on June 21.

Before the unrest in the state, Gangte had been working as a teacher at VN Model School in Kwakta since 2018. Following the violence in Kwakta, he relocated with his family to a relief camp in Churachandpur. The owner of the school also owned a hardware store in Churachandpur, where Gangte had been working as a supplier for the past two months. He was procuring hardware materials and supplying them to customers in Churachandpur on a commission basis. Gangte was apprehended near Torbung village in Churachandpur district by a joint operation of NIA and Manipur police as he was on his way to deliver the hardware materials.

According to an NIA spokesperson, Gangte’s arrest has revealed a conspiracy involving Myanmar and Bangladesh-based militant groups working with a section of militant leaders in India. The aim of this conspiracy is to incite violence and sow discord between different ethnic groups, as well as to wage war against the Indian government.

The IED blast on June 21 involved a stolen Mahindra Scorpio car, which detonated on a bridge connecting Phougakchao Ikhai Awang Leikai and Kwakta area along Tiddim road in Bishnupur district. The police filed a report on June 23 based on a complaint by Rajeev Kumar, Under Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The case was then handed over to the NIA. The NIA was able to trace the owner of the car, who had reported it stolen a month prior to the blast. It was discovered during the investigation that militants had intentionally planted the IED on the bridge to disrupt the connection between the two districts.

The Manipur police announced on Saturday through a tweet that Gangte, who was arrested in a joint operation with NIA, has been taken for production before the Delhi Special NIA Court.