IMPHAL: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has detained three leaders affiliated with the United National Liberation Front (UNLF)-Pambei group in Imphal West district of Manipur, sparking widespread protests and road blockades across the state on Wednesday (March 13).
Under tight security measures implemented in strategic locations around Imphal, NIA operatives, aided by central and state forces, apprehended the three UNLF-P leaders, including the outfit’s army chief Thokchom Thoiba alias Sidabamapu and the chief intelligence in-charge Ingba.
Subsequently, the trio was transported via a special Indian Air Force plane from Imphal in Manipur to New Delhi.
Sources indicated uncertainty regarding whether the UNLF-P leaders were arrested or summoned for a meeting, given the group’s current engagement in peace talks with the central government.
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In response to detainment of the three UNLF-P leaders, hundreds of individuals, predominantly women representing various organizations, staged protests.
In Yairipok Bazaar, women demonstrators initiated a road blockade, while in the northern part of Imphal city in Manipur, all shops and business establishments shuttered in the afternoon as a mark of solidarity.