Govt zeroes in on masterminds of Manipur ambush; Niki Sumi said to be the brain behind attack

NEW DELHI: The government has zeroed in on four masterminds of the dastardly attack on the Indian Army on June 4, including three main commanders of the NSCN (K) and one of the KYKL, who hatched the plot from Myanmar.

Senior government officials said the most wanted man for the June 4 attack is Niki Sumi, the military advisor of NSCN (K) who is said to be the brain behind the attack and who drew up the entire conspiracy from Myanmar.

Sumi belongs to Nagaland and is suspected that his camp in Ponue in Myanmar was attacked by the Indian Army on June 9 from the Nagaland side but Sumi had left the camp by then though it is believed that 15 NSCN (K) insurgents at the camp were killed.

He is said to be changing his location every 15 days, sources said. He has been working on the directions of SS Khaplang, the chief of the NSCN (K) who is also wanted for hatching the whole plot.

The other two senior NSCN (K) insurgents identified by the government for the June 4 attack conspiracy are Neymlang, the major general of NSCN (K) and Starson Lamkang, the finance chief of the same outfit who is suspected to have facilitated the attack.



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"It is Starson's native village in Manipur where the militant ambush on the Army convoy took place on June 4," a senior government official told ET. The government also suspects Oken, the Chief of KYKL from Manipur, to have participated in the attack conspiracy along with NSCN (K) commanders.

The government is set to ban the NSCN (K) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and has moved a Cabinet note to that effect. KYKL is already banned under UAPA.