Police: Manipur militant outfit chief held in Delhi

According to police, KNF is involved in terror activities, and “orchestrated” a ‘black day’ in Manipur on September 13 — as part of the protests, the outfit threw the state under a lockdown to demand justice for thousands of people from Kuki tribe who were killed between 1992 and 1997, allegedly by Naga groups.

Delhi Police’s Special Cell said they received information about Kipgen’s presence in the national capital and arrested him from Dwarka.

DCP, Special Cell, Pramod Singh Kushwah said, “He has a big network of armed militants and was planning to kidnap employees of a major construction company in Manipur to stop construction at various places and extort from the victim.”

During investigation, police said they found that Kipgen was in contact with KNF since 2018 and led its members to commit robbery, extortion and other criminal activities. “He is famous for snatching weapons of security personnel, kidnapping and extorting from security forces posted in Manipur,” police said.

Last year, Kipgen and his associates allegedly kidnapped two sentries of a police outpost in Manipur and robbed a service rifle. His associates were arrested but Kipgen went absconding.