17 pulled up from Sinai camp will be arrested: Govindas
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 23 2026: Of the 18 persons found inside Sinai Camp, one of the designated camps of Kuki militant groups under SoO agreement located at Semol village, Kangpokpi district, only one has turned out to be a cadre of the SoO groups.

The other 17 will be formally arrested and questioned, said Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam.

Speaking to media persons at the opening function of an orchard at Socio Economic and Development Society (SEEDS) complex, near Manipur Olympian Park, Sangaithel today, Govindas said that security forces launched intensive search operations soon after three firewood collectors were killed and three others injured in a deadly attack on October 19, 2026, and the Sinai Camp was kept under siege.

17 pulled up from Sinai camp will be arrested: Govindas

As security forces moved in, 18 people were found inside the camp.

One of them has been identified to be a cadre of KNF but the particular KNF faction he is associated with has not been ascertained, the Home Minister said.

The remaining 17 will be arrested and they will be subjected to intensive questioning, he said.

In the course of the intensive search operations carried out at S Phailenkot and surrounding areas following the deadly attack, three KNF cadres were arrested along with a substantial number of arms and ammunition.

To which KNF faction the three men belong cannot be ascertained as of now.

They are being questioned and their faction will be confirmed very soon, Govindas said.

On the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement signed among the Government of India, State Government and Kuki militant groups, the Home Minister stated that the agreement expired on September 4, 2026 .

He speculated that the Government of India, considering the pulse of the people of Manipur, may be holding back the agreement. The Home Minister categorically stated that the SoO agreement has no provision for fresh recruitments.

He said that extensive search operations will go on in order to pull up all the men involved in killings and other acts of violence.

These search operations will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of community or ethnicity, he said.

Nonetheless, security forces are instructed not to commit excesses during the search operations, he added.

The Home Minister said that security forces encounter certain operational difficulties because of the hill terrain.

There is no question of rolling back the decision to shift seven designated camps of SoO groups.

The SoO groups have been given money for development of infrastructure and a timeline has also been set for the same, he said.

The orchard named SEEDS Green legacy Orchard was jointly developed by SEEDS and Editors' Guild Manipur in collaboration with the Department of Horticulture, and it is being supported by AMWJU and MHJU .

EGM president Khogen-dra Khomdram, AMWJU president Asem Bhaka, officials of MHJU, SEEDS and Horticulture Department and officers of 189 Bn CRPF who have been guarding Manipur Olympian Park took part in the function.