Manipur: CRPF takes over Sinai camp in Kangpokpi after SoO raid

The Sinai camp in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, raided by security forces on October 23, is now in the custody of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), The Hindu reported on Monday, October 26.

Sinai is one of the designated camps for Kuki-Zo groups under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement, and one of two that the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Manipur government want relocated under the pact's revised terms. The raid led to 17 arrests.

What police say they found

A joint team of Manipur Police, the CRPF and Assam Rifles found 18 people at the camp during what was described as a surprise raid, against a sanctioned strength of 150. Police said 17 of them were found impersonating registered SoO cadres using false identities.

Police said 24 firearms, 38 magazines, a large quantity of ammunition, explosives, wireless equipment and other combat gear were seized. Investigations into the role of camp functionaries, impersonation, unauthorised arms possession and breaches of SoO ground rules are continuing.

A senior government official told the newspaper the raid would set a precedent. The official said SoO camps had been treated as untouchable until now but adherence to ground rules was expected from here on, adding that 159 cadres were on record for Sinai and only one of the 18 people found was authorised to be there.

KNO disputes the account

Kuki National Organisation (KNO) spokesperson Seilen Haokip said the 18 members had been at the camp for ten years and that security forces had acknowledged their presence on earlier inspections. He said the weapons seized were authorised and registered for camp protection, and that the SoO agreement has no surrender clause. He acknowledged that some of those at the camp were not on the 2008 list, but said they were original members.

The SoO background

The KNO and the United People's Front (UPF), together representing 24 groups, signed the SoO with the Centre and the state in 2008. The pact lapsed in February 2024 when the state declined to extend it after ethnic violence broke out in May 2023, and was signed afresh on September 4, 2025. Under the new terms, the two umbrella groups are to have six camps each instead of the current 14, located away from populated areas, highways and the Myanmar border.

The camp lies close to Nongshum, near the border of Imphal East and Kangpokpi, where three villagers were killed on October 19. The KNO has denied any involvement in those killings.