The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested another key accused in connection with the murder of three women and three children in Manipur’s Jiribam district last year, further escalating tensions in the violence-hit state, the agency said on Friday.

The accused, Lalrosang Hmar, was arrested from Aizawl in Mizoram on Thursday. This marks the second arrest in the case, following the earlier detention of another suspect, Thanglienlal Hmar, who was also caught in Aizawl.

“Like Thanglienlal, Lalrosang was also an active conspirator in the heinous crime. The NIA has recovered a mobile phone and a SIM card from his possession, which are now being examined as part of the ongoing investigation,” the agency said in a statement.

The case pertains to the abduction and murder of three women and three children in the Borebekra area of Jiribam district on November 11, 2024. The victims were kidnapped, and their bodies were later found dumped in the Barak River.

In a separate development on Friday, security forces arrested four militants from different parts of Manipur.

Among those apprehended was Moirangthem Biramani Meitei, the self-styled army chief of the banned Kangleipak Communist Party (Nongdrenkhomba). Two members of the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and an active cadre of the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK – PRO) were also taken into custody. Several arms and rounds of ammunition were seized from them.

Manipur has been in the grip of a cycle of ethnic violence since May 2023, primarily between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kuki-Zo group. According to official figures, the unrest has claimed 258 lives and displaced over 60,000 people.

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