HT DIGITAL
IMPHAL, JUNE 6: In a 36-hour coordinated drive, state and central forces apprehended four suspected cadres of the proscribed People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the militant wing of the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), in Manipur’s Imphal Valley. The drive was focused on the persons reportedly engaged in large-scale extortion in some districts.
As per police accounts on Friday, the suspects arrested were busy extorting money from government offices, local shops, shopkeepers, oil pumps, and transporters. They were operating in Bishnupur, Imphal East, and Imphal West districts, which has serious implications about the influence of the group in the area.
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The breakthrough occurred when Moirangthem Babu Singh, alias Chingshang, a 34-year-old man of Ngangkhalawai Mayai Leikai in Bishnupur District, was arrested by security forces in between the Ngangkhalawai and Thamnapokpi gap of National Highway 02, within Moirang Police Station. A mobile phone and a SIM card were seized from him at the time of arrest.
After the on-the-spot interrogation of Hira, security personnel launched a second operation in a far-flung area of Imphal West district. Three more PLA members were arrested at Taothong Khunou near Khudeiban Lampak under the Lamsang Police Station.
The persons who were arrested were Salam Amarjit Singh (37), Hijam Anand Singh (27), and Sharubam Sarat Singh (28), all inhabitants of Andro Khunou Torongthel in Imphal East District. The authorities have seized three mobile phones, a wallet containing a small sum of money, and three Aadhaar cards from them. The successful operation is a major setback for the extortion racket reportedly run by the PLA in the area and an indication of the continued security efforts to reestablish stability in Manipur.
