Sunurok ambush: Custody extended for 3 accused, 17 held at Sinai camp

A Judicial Magistrate First Class in Kangpokpi has extended the police custody of three men arrested in connection with the October 19 ambush at Sunurok, and of 17 people accused of impersonating Suspension of Operations (SoO) cadres at the Sinai designated camp, The Sangai Express reported.

The three accused in the Sunurok case were produced before the magistrate by a Yaingangpokpi police team on Friday and remanded to five more days of police custody. The newspaper identified them as Heminthang Khongsai alias Lunthang Thangboi, 21, and Lungunpao Kipgen alias Lugun, 22, both from Kangpokpi district, and Seilal Haokip alias Alan, 46, of Laikot Chajang village.

Toll now four

The ambush at Sunurok killed three people and injured three others. One of the injured, an Imphal resident, died in hospital on Saturday, taking the death toll to four.

17 'impersonators' remanded till November 6

The 17 people picked up from the Sinai SoO camp were produced in court on Saturday. They were arrested on October 23, days after the ambush, by a joint team of Manipur Police, CRPF's Quick Reaction Team and CoBRA commandos, who also seized 24 firearms, 38 magazines, a large quantity of ammunition, explosives, wireless sets and combat gear.

According to the investigating officer, eight of them were posing as cadres of the Kuki National Army (KNA) and nine as cadres of the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA), using false identities. They have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Arms Act, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

The officer told the court that the probe covers the possible involvement of camp functionaries, the impersonation itself, unauthorised possession of weapons and violations of the SoO ground rules. The magistrate remanded the 17 to police custody until November 6.

Pressure over SoO pact

The Sinai raid has fed into a wider debate over the SoO agreement with Kuki-Zo armed groups. On Saturday, a large rally in Imphal backed by Meitei and Naga organisations demanded that the pact be scrapped, while CRPF has taken over security at the Sinai camp. NEInsider will update this story as the investigation progresses.