Manipur: Two arrested for damaging cars of civvies police

Imphal: Manipur Police arrested two individuals who were the main accused in arson, mob attacks, assaulting security personnel, and vandalizing two vehicles occupied by plainclothes law enforcers during an operation in Imphal East district.

Police later identified the arrested individuals as Konjengbam Nana, also known as Arunjit (21), a resident of Pukhao Naharup under Sagolmang Police Station, Imphal East district, and Heikrujam Khamba Meitei (43) of Khewa Phurju under the same police station.

On Thursday, the police reported that they had arrested both men at their respective homes during early morning operations on Wednesday.

Police made the arrests in connection with the violent incident that took place at Khewa Phurju in Imphal East's Khundrakpam Constituency on September 30, when plainclothes officers attempted to apprehend a local resident.

During the operation, a mob vandalized two unregistered vehicles, a Hyundai i20 and a Maruti Baleno, and assaulted the officers inside.

Locals of Khewa Phurju, who were working under the MGNREGA scheme, had reportedly noticed the two vehicles moving suspiciously back and forth. They stopped the cars and questioned the occupants.

The officers, dressed in plain clothes, revealed that they had come to seize drugs, which triggered the confrontation and the subsequent mob attack.

Meanwhile, the villagers claimed that the person the police were trying to arrest is a former village volunteer who now earns a living by growing vegetables.