Manipur govt writes to MHA for NIA probe in killing of former tribe council leader

A joint action committee (JAC), formed in connection with the killing, on Saturday also served a 48-hour ultimatum to the state to arrest the culprits, failing which it threatened to launch a series of agitation.

In an official letter to the MHA, H Gyan Prakash, the special secretary of the state home department, told the Ministry that the matter was “sensitive” and required investigation by the NIA.

The special secretary also stated that the matter could trigger possible inter-state ramifications owing to the involvement of suspected NSCN(IM) cadre.

Athuan Abonmai, was a former president of Zeliangrong Baudi, a tribe council based in the Tamenglong district of Manipur.

He was found dead in the interior part of Tamenglong district with multiple injuries on his body after being abducted from the district headquarters last Wednesday. The abduction was carried out amid heavy security deployment at the district headquarters in connection with the visit of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren.

Abonmai was on his way to attend the government programme at the district headquarters ground when he was abducted.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had admitted security lapses from the part of the police and apologised publicly. As many as 16 police personnel, including the officer in-charge of the district headquarter, were suspended. Both the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police of the district were also transferred on Sunday in connection with the incident.