Six ultras from Manipur held in Bangalore

Six suspected militants including top ranking cadres of a banned Manipur-based outfit have been arrested in the suburbs of Bangalore.

The suspected ultras, who were posing as software professionals, were arrested in a joint operation by Bangalore City police and Military Intelligence over the last two days.

The arrested militants belonged to People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), an extremist organization of Manipur that is waging a war against the state seeking “expulsion” of outsiders from the North East Indian state.

Acting on a tip off, sleuths of City Crime Branch of Bangalore and Military Intelligence raided a house in Kaggadaspura on the outskirts of the City and arrested PREPAK’s project officer Laikhuram Jiten Singh alias Dada and self-styled lieutenant Thungo Singh alias Chalamba from the house.

During interrogation, the arrested ultras informed the police about the location of four other accomplices. A team of 20 personnel from Bangalore police accompanied by 15 sleuths from Military Intelligence swooped on the four others, who were holding a meeting at a place near Hebbal flyover in the middle of the night.

A West Asian national, who was studying in Bangalore, was also found with the suspected ultras from Manipur.

Police said a number of SIM cards, mobile phones and incriminating documents had been seized from the suspected ultras, who were all in their late twenties or early thirties.

The operation to nab the PREPAK ultras was launched almost a month ago after Military Intelligence in Bangalore received information from their counterparts in Manipur that the suspected extremists had taken shelter in Bangalore.

The Military Intelligence sleuths tracked the ultras with the help of their cell phones and tailed them at various points in the City. After one of Military Intelligence sleuths from Manipur arrived in Bangalore and identified the ultras at a mall in the City, the team followed them to their residence and carried out a raid.

Meanwhile, Inspector Manihar Singh from Manipur has arrived in Bangalore along with two more officers in connection with the arrest. The arrested ultras are expected to be taken to Manipur for interrogation.