New Delhi: An investigation into the activities of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) has revealed that the insurgent group spent Rs 13 crore in 2023 on training cadres, purchasing uniforms, travel to Myanmar, acquiring arms—including INSAS rifles and light machine guns—and procuring drones.
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into a money-laundering case involving UNLF cadres operating in the Manipur valley, the insurgent group extorted crores from schools, colleges, training institutes, hospitals and individuals, including serving politicians, in the guise of “donations”.
The group also raised funds by collecting unauthorised taxes from liquor shops, highways, and betel nut and tobacco transporters as part of its wider efforts to intensify tensions in Manipur.
Crucial evidence was found in various documents titled ‘Arms Report’, ‘Arms Budget’, ‘Donation Report’, ‘Deily Collection (read, Daily Collection)’ and ‘Estimated budget for training arms and ammunition’ recovered from the digital devices of two alleged UNLF cadre members arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
This evidence forms part of a chargesheet submitted by the ED as part of its investigation. ThePrint has a copy of the chargesheet.
According to the ED’s probe, funds extorted by UNLF cadres from the general public and businessmen and through the unauthorised collection of toll taxes at national highways were “part of a larger conspiracy” and aimed at exacerbating the ethnic unrest in Manipur.
“These valley-based insurgents raised funds by threatening people in the name of protection from militants and generated money in the guise of donations. They carried illegal weapons with them to threaten the public,” said an ED source.
The ED source said the UNLF ran “a well-oiled system” with dedicated wings for finance, HR, family welfare and operations. Each had a budget of crores allocated to it.
“They first raise money in the name of donations by threatening people including big businessmen, school owners and even politicians, and then use that fund to procure illegal arms, recruit youngsters and train them,” said the ED source. “No one was spared. Right from small shop owners to transporters of tobacco, cement dealers, sawmill owners.”
The ED began its investigation in July 2023 based on a case registered by the NIA which involved a “transnational conspiracy” hatched by Myanmar-based terror outfits that were operationally active in the northeast states to “exploit the ethnic unrest in the state of Manipur” and “wage war against the government of India”.
The ED arrested Thokchom Gyaneshor and Laimayum Anand Sharma on 16 October under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following which a chargesheet was filed on 12 December.
According to the chargesheet, Gyaneshor and Sharma are trained UNLF cadres involved in the procurement, collection and illegal acquisition of arms to “threaten the unity, integrity, security, sovereignty of India and to strike terror”.
The ED alleged that they used the funds raised by extortion to procure arms and ammunition, with some weapons stolen from government armouries. Gyaneshor, it added, was involved in the recruitment and training of new UNLF cadres.
A well-oiled network
Formed in 1964 to establish an “independent, sovereign Manipur”, UNLF is the state’s oldest valley-based armed group. It was among the nine Meitei extremist groups banned by the Centre last year.
In 1990, UNLF launched an armed struggle for the ‘liberation’ of Manipur from India. According to security sources, the outfit has several camps in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region as well as in parts of Bangladesh.
According to the ED’s chargesheet, the UNLF has several wings including an armed unit, the Manipur People’s Army (MPA), and departments for family welfare and health, organisation, HR, finance, valley operations and projects, and external regional affairs. Each of these departments has a hefty annual budget.
The ED found that the MPA has an annual budget of Rs 36 crore, or Rs 3 crore a month, and the family welfare and health department’s annual budget is Rs 18 crore, or approximately Rs 1.5 crore a month. This works out to a total of Rs 54 crore.
The chargesheet also mentioned that the organisation department and the HR wing have a monthly budget of Rs 1 crore and the external regional and affairs department has a monthly budget of around Rs 3-4 lakh.
According to investigators, all these funds are provided to various units in cash only.
Interestingly, one of the documents dated 25 October 2023, showed that the cadres collected Rs 80 lakh from “corrupt people”.
Reports on arms purchase, money extorted
Among the records recovered by the investigation agencies are documents related to the purchase of illegal arms, training expenses, procurement of new technology, budget allocation for UNLF units, a detailed list of MPA cadres and payments made to camps.
A 32 GB document, titled ‘Arms Report’, contains detailed records of arms and ammunition purchased by different UNLF cadres, including the quantity and costs.
The document details the arms that were purchased, including INSAS rifles and SLRs. It also specifies the number of arms collected from the public, those looted from the police and the quantity of old arms already in the possession of the cadres, the chargesheet says.
Additionally, the document contained a list of arms and ammunition held by UNLF camps with details of the type of arms along with their serial number and the number of bullets.
Another document, titled ‘Arms Budget’, outlines an estimated budget for the training and acquisition of arms and ammunition.
According to the ED, the funds were allocated to MPA-UNLF units for the maintenance of camps in India and Myanmar, salaries, and recruitment and training of new cadres, all running into crores.
“These reports that we recovered during the investigation show how meticulously the cadres planned their operations,” an ED source said.
Funds for arms purchases were raised through an unauthorised toll tax on vehicles on national highways, and from individuals, institutions, shops and coaching institutes in 2023.
“More than Rs 8.5 lakh was collected from toll tax. Almost Rs 7 lakh was collected from tobacco transporters and lakhs were made from schools and hospitals,” the source said.
Another document, titled ‘2nd phase Donation’, listed funds raised from various schools, hospitals, and various stores and coaching institutes in July and August 2023. According to the chargesheet, the total amount collected in this period was Rs 1.1 crore.
It also mentions a document titled ‘Donation Report’ dated 25 October 2023, which shows that Rs 1.13 crore was raised from various sources, including individuals, factories, liquor shops, sawmills and toll taxes on goods-carrying vehicles on national highways.
“The persons who were raising these funds were MPA cadres and Thokchom Gyaneshor being the self-styled chief of army staff of UNLF prepared the report of funds raised for records,” the ED said in its chargesheet.
Another document ‘Donation Report’ contains a detailed list of funds raised from individuals, schools, institutes, universities, brick farms and shops in July and August 2023 on behalf of UNLF.
It detailed how funds were collected from goods vehicles transporting paan leaves on NH-39 from 18 December 2022 to 30 December 2023. The ‘road tax’ collected was Rs 8.6 lakh.
“The collection is deposited with the finance department in cash,” the chargesheet says.
According to the ED chargesheet, another document titled “BUDGET” listed the consolidated budget of February 2024 at Rs 48.56 lakh. “This was related to maintenance of the organisation including salary to cadres of respective units, medical expenses, transport expense, acquisition of arms and ammunition,” it says.
‘They come in military attire with weapons to extort’
The ED’s chargesheet includes statements from several protected witnesses, who allege they were threatened by UNLF cadres to pay money or face consequences. It also contains statements from UNLF workers which were extracted from the digital devices recovered during the probe.
One witness, whose statement is part of the chargesheet, said that armed UNLF cadres reached his house and forced him to speak with UNLF army chief Sidabamapu, who threatened him over the phone.
“He was told that if he did not want any trouble and wanted UNLF to stay away from his land dispute case, then he would have to pay Rs 50 lakh. However, after negotiations he was forced to pay Rs 10 lakh,” the chargesheet says.
Another witness said that UNLF raised funds from the public by threatening them at gunpoint. “The witness said that UNLF is an underground outfit and they threaten by stating that they are the one who are protecting them from militants and if they are not given funds, they may land into trouble,” the chargesheet says.
One witness said that UNLF cadres wore military-like attire and carried arms and ammunition while raising funds from construction companies through demand notes. “They threaten the staff of these companies that if their demands are not met they will shoot them.”
Another witness said that UNLF’s cadres raised funds from medical institutes by threatening and committing violent acts such as placing grenades and firing shots near the businesses of those who didn’t meet their demands.
One more witness said that UNLF forced him to talk to Sidamabapu over the phone, who said that if pan masala traders wanted to work peacefully in Imphal, they would have to pay ‘funds’ to UNLF.
According to the ED’s chargesheet, UNLF cadres extorted about Rs 2.26 crore in the past year, which was used to fund their terror activities.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)