New Delhi: The family of Lalrosang Hmar alias Rosang and his brother Thanglienlal Hmar, both arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week in connection with the killing of three Meitei women and three Meitei children in Manipur’s Jiribam district, claimed they were clueless about the brothers’ alleged link to the killings.
According to the NIA, Lalrosang and Thanglienlal are residents of Moinathol Dilkshosh Ghat in Assam’s Cachar district.
Lalrosang, the his father and wife told ThePrint, worked as a farmer in Sairang in Mizoram, while his brother Thanglienlal worked as a motorboat operator in Assam’s Cachar and also served as an elder in a church. “I don’t even have money to take their case forward. I am a daily wage earner. How am I going to get them back?” asked the father.
The agency said Thanglienlal was arrested from Assam on 31 July, while Lalrosang was taken into custody from Aizawl in Mizoram the next day. However, their family members claim Lalrosang was taken into custody by the agency on 31 July itself.
On Friday, the Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee (ITAC) said in a statement, “The narrative that the arrested Hmar innocent civilians played a ‘logistical role’ in an alleged coordinated killing—without any transparent and independent verification—clearly indicates a predetermined conclusion intended to criminalise tribal resistance while systematically ignoring the heinous atrocities committed by the majoritarian Meitei community against the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar Tribals.”
The NIA took over the case from the Manipur Police in November last year, at the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The police initially registered the case after armed miscreants fired upon houses and shops belonging to Meiteis in Jiribam’s Borobekra in the afternoon of 11 November last year. The CRPF and police personnel opened fire in retaliation, and two people died as a result of firing by the militants, said the FIR.
That same day, six women and children were abducted from Borobekra area. Days later, their bodies were found mutilated and floating in the Barak river. The Cachar police recovered the bodies from the river in neighbouring Assam.
The deceased included Yumrembam Rani Devi (60), Telem Thoibi Devi (31) and her daughter Telem Thajamanbi Devi (8), Laishram Heithoibi Devi (25), along with her two sons—Laishram Chingkheinganba Singh (2.5 years old) and Laishram Lamnganba Singh (10 months old).
Family members of the victims, along with local Meitei civil society organisations, have alleged that around 30 individuals were involved in the attack and that the killings took place “in front of security officials”. They have demanded a thorough investigation and strict action against those responsible for the killings.
Amid widespread condemnation of these killings and violence in Manipur’s Jiribam district, the NIA took over three cases related to violence in Manipur. The other two cases were about the murder of a woman by heavily armed militants and the attack on the CRPF post (A-Coy, 20th Battalion) at Jakuradhor Karong.
On its part, the NIA alleged that the two brothers were “actively” involved in the conspiracy behind the killing of these civilians. Sources aware of the case details said that Thanglienlal Hmar was intercepted by a joint team of the NIA and the Assam Police when he was travelling from Jiribam to Cachar on a country-made boat through the Barak river route.
“He was intercepted and impounded by a team from the Cachar Police who were patrolling on a boat. The accused is a registered resident of Cachar district (in Assam) but has been settled in the neighbouring Jiribam district of Manipur,” an official aware of the case details told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, Lalrosang’s wife told ThePrint that the family moved to Sairang, near Aizawl, in November 2024—the same month the violence erupted in Jiribam.
“We moved here with our daughter to look for work because it was becoming increasingly difficult after the tensions escalated. I have no idea why he has been arrested. I even went to the Sairang police station when they picked him up, but they did not tell me anything,” she said.
The arrests come three weeks after the Manipur High Court directed the NIA to submit a report on the case. Earlier, it had ordered the counter-terrorism law enforcement agency to file a chargesheet within a month. The NIA had also submitted two sealed cover reports to the HC detailing the progress of its investigation into this high-profile case.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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