The Hindu : Front Page : Leader of banned Manipur outfit held

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 06, 2006

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Leader of banned Manipur outfit held

V.S. Palaniappan

General secretary of the UNLF was in Coimbatore for medical treatment

IN POLICE NET: The arrested UNLF leader of Manipur being carried to a police ambulance in Coimbatore on Tuesday. — Photo: K. Ananthan

Coimbatore: T he Manipur police, with the assistance of the Coimbatore City Police, on Tuesday arrested Khundongbam alias Tomba (55), general secretary of the banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF) of Manipur, from a private hospital here.

Tomba had a key role in the armed struggle by the UNLF's Manipur People's Army and is said to be the second in command. He is believed to have arrived here on August 22. He underwent a surgery for two compressions in the spinal cord.

Tomba came with another UNLF activist, Salam Pung (30), and took a room in a private lodge under a fictitious name using a forged driving licence.

He was operated upon on August 30 and was under post-surgical care, said Dr. S. Rajasekharan of Ganga hospital.

Crucial phone call

The interception of a phone call made by Tomba to a UNLF base in Manipur by the Military Intelligence wing revealed his whereabouts. Immediately, the Intelligence Bureau and the Manipur Police coordinated with the Coimbatore city police and Tombo was brought under surveillance.

He was under watch for the last eight days.

According to the police, Tomba known as Sunil, Pambei and Ekombi got admitted to the hospital as K.H. Ibitombi.

A search was on for Tombo for the last two decades and the Manipur Government had announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh. He was a "proclaimed offender" for declaring a war against the Indian Government, seeking independent nationhood for Manipur.

A team headed by the Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore City, Karan Singha arrested Tomba, and his companion. They have been remanded to judicial custody and lodged in Coimbatore Central prison.

Pictures seized

A laptop, cell phones, Rs 35,000 in cash and clothes were seized. Pictures relating to a centre run by the Manipur People's Army for training activists in loading rifles, AK 47, light machine guns and using rocket launchers were also recovered, sources said. Besides picking up a student who is suspected to have come to the hospital to see Tomba, the police secured nearly 20 Manipuri students studying here for questioning.

Police sources said the arrest was to execute a warrant pending against Tomba who had been charged with sedition under section (124 A) of Indian Penal Code and sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention of Act of 1967, Explosive Substances Act and Arms Act.

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