The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested a Rohingya man in J&K’s Jammu city for suspected terror links, as the net widened in the Kwakta blast case.
Official sources said that he has been suspected in connection with the IED blast that took place at Kwakta in Bishnupur district on June 21.
The Rohingya refugee has been identified as one Zafar Alam. The blast took place in an IED-laden Scorpio vehicle parked over a bridge located the area of Phougakchao Ikhai Awang Leikai and Kwakta along Tiddim road in Bishnupur district.
Three persons were injured and the bridge along with nearby houses was damaged by the blast.
It may be recalled that a Meitei Pangal (Muslim) was arrested earlier. Previously, NIA had also arrested a Meitei Pangal native of Kwakta Noor Hussain from Silchar in connection with the blast.
Further investigations revealed the involvement of Md Islauddin Khan in the blast and he was arrested in coordination with the Manipur Police.
The case was initially registered by Manipur Police, vide FIR no. 635 (6)2023 dated June 21, 2023 at PGCI Police Station, subdivision Moirang, Bishnupur District, Manipur and later re-registered by the NIA on June 23 in Imphal.
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The NIA release had stated, investigations in RC 01/2023/NIA/IMP revealed the involvement of Md Islauddin in the Bomb blast that took place on June 21 in an IED laden Scorpio vehicle parked over a bridge located the area of Phougakchao Ikhai Awang Leikai and Kwakta along Tiddim road in Bishnupur District, Manipur.
After his arrest, Md Islauddin Khan was produced before the jurisdictional Court at Imphal whereupon the Court remanded the accused to NIA custody for seven days.
It may be recalled that in intelligence based joint operations with Assam Police, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Md Noor Hussain from Silchar, Cachar District, Assam in the case related to a bomb blast at Kwakta from a vehicle.
NIA investigations had earlier revealed the involvement of Md Noor Hussain in the bomb blast that took place on June 21 in an IED laden vehicle parked over a bridge located in the area of Phougakchao Ikhai Awang Leikai and Kwakta along Tiddim road in Bishnupur District, Manipur.
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In a major breakthrough, NIA arrested Seiminlun Gangte, 51, of Churachandpur in connection with the Kwakta bomb blast on October 1.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a press release said, he was arrested in a case related to a transnational conspiracy by terror outfits based in Myanmar and Bangladesh to “wage war” against the Government of India by exploiting the current ethnic unrest in Manipur.
The NIA said that its investigation has revealed that militant groups based in Myanmar and Bangladesh have entered into a conspiracy with a section of militant leaders in India to indulge in violence with an intention to drive a wedge between different ethnic groups and to wage war against the Government of India.
“And for this purpose, the aforementioned leadership have been providing funds to procure arms, ammunition and other types of terrorist hardware which are being sourced both, from across the border, as well as from other terrorist outfits active in north-eastern States of India to stoke the current ethnic strife in Manipur,” it alleged.
