Man Carrying 10 High-End Drone Batteries For Manipur Terror Group Arrested

A man who allegedly tried to sneak into Manipur carrying 10 high-end drone batteries for a terror group has been arrested by the Assam Special Task Force (STF), the police said in a statement today. A filmmakers' association of the Kuki tribes in Manipur has, however, refuted the allegations against what it called a renowed member of the association, who simply bought the drone batteries for work.

The police called the arrest a "major breakthrough", pointing at the use of beyond line-of-sight, military-grade drones by armed groups in Manipur amid the Meitei-Kuki ethnic conflict. STF operatives intercepted Khaigoulen Kipgen, 27, at a toll gate in Sonapur on National Highway 27, some 20 km from Guwahati, the police said. Mr Kipgen is a resident of Gamngai village in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, the police said.

"It appears that a terrorist group from Manipur is trying to have drone capabilities and so these batteries were bought. Recently, a central agency tipped us about a possible sabotage activity with the use of drones, so we stepped up our intelligence network," Assam Police's STF IGP Parthasarathi Mahanta told NDTV.

Two minors were in the vehicle with Mr Kipgen, the police said.

"... The intelligence suggested that a Manipur-based banned organisation was attempting to procure equipment potentially for sabotage activities," the police said in the statement.

Kuki Film Body Refutes Allegation Against Its Member

A film body of the Kuki tribes in a statement refuted the allegations against Mr Kipgen, who it said is a member of the Kuki Film Development Association.

"KUFIDA is distressed to learn about the arrest of a renowned Kuki film director David Khaigoulen Kipgen by the Assam Police STF with his equipment... for his upcoming project," the association said in the statement. "... The arrest is simply unfounded, and the association strongly condemns it."

The association said "every film director... has the right to purchase their film equipment, such as battery for drones anytime, anywhere."

The police said the material seized by them, particularly the drone batteries, prove that terror groups in Manipur are trying to buy drones for "illicit activities". The STF said further investigation is going on.

Sources said Manipur Police will coordinate with their Assam counterpart in the investigation. They suspect Mr Kipgen would have either gone to Kangpokpi or Jiribam.

The reason Mr Kipgen took National Highway 27 was likely due to Saparmeina being landlocked between Imphal West and Senapati in Manipur, an official with direct knowledge of the matter told NDTV. The operatives tracking him suspected he would try to take interior roads from Zubza (in Nagaland) to emerge somewhere along the highway in Litan in Manipur's Ukhrul district, the official said, requesting anonymity. The official said they suspected he would have handed over the items in Litan before driving in the opposite direction towards Kangpokpi.

Police sources in Manipur said they will coordinate with security forces to keep a closer watch on this section. The other route the police suspect Mr Kipgen would have taken is the Guwahati-Shillong-Silchar road to eventually enter Jiribam.

Many of the drones used by armed groups in Manipur are powered by 'TB30 Intelligent Flight' batteries, which the STF seized from the Kangpokpi resident.

The STF said the operation began after they received information about illegal transport of drones and related equipment to Manipur via Guwahati in Assam.

STF sources told NDTV the timing of the arrest is significant amid fresh violence in Manipur's Jiribam on the border with Assam.

The ethnic violence in Manipur that began in May 2023 between the valley-dominant Meitei community and the hill-dominant Kuki tribes has reached Jiribam. Manipur's Kangpokpi and Churachandpur are two other districts dominated by the Kuki tribes.

The violence has killed over 220 and internally displaced nearly 50,000.