The accused has been remanded to 10 days of NIA custody, with investigators now working to identify other suspects and uncover the wider network allegedly responsible for the attack.
BY PC Bureau
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested its first suspect in connection with the April 7 improvised explosive device (IED) attack on a residential house in Tronglaobi Awang Leikai in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, in which two children were killed and another family member injured.
S. Palal Thadou was taken into custody as investigators intensified their probe into the alleged conspiracy and the wider network behind the attack.
According to investigators, militants fired an IED from a hillside towards the house. The explosion seriously injured three people, including two children who later succumbed to their injuries. An unexploded rocket-propelled grenade was also recovered from the site.
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The case was initially registered at Moirang police station before being taken over by the NIA and re-registered on April 23 under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
During the investigation, the agency identified Thadou’s alleged links to the conspiracy. He had earlier been arrested by Churachandpur police in one case and Bishnupur police in another before being handed over to the NIA.
According to Manipur Police, Thadou admitted to being the “finance head” of the banned outfit UKNA. Investigators have also linked him to several other incidents, including a bomb blast in Tronglaobi on December 16 last year, a firing incident at Molnom during the night of February 3-4, and other firing cases reported in March and July.
Thadou was produced before the Special NIA Court in Imphal, which remanded him to 10 days of police custody.
The NIA said its investigation is continuing, with efforts focused on identifying and arresting other suspects allegedly involved in the conspiracy and establishing the broader network behind the attack.
The arrest, nearly four months after the blast that killed two children inside their home, marks the first major breakthrough in the NIA investigation and comes as the agency works to establish the full chain of responsibility for the attack.
