BJP leader, retired army official held in Manipur for killing police officer

A leader of the ruling BJP and an ex-Army soldier were arrested from Manipur’s Moreh town bordering Myanmar in connection with the killing of police officer Chingtham Anand Kumar last year.

BJP’s senior Vice-President of Manipur N Nimbus Singh said that the party executive in its emergency meeting immediately after the arrest of Hemkholal Mate (36), treasurer (Tengnoupal Mandal) of the saffron party, expelled him from the party.

Mate is also the chief of K Moulsang village and finance secretary of Mate Tribe Union (MTU).


Police said that a joint team of state forces on Monday night arrested Mate and prime accused in the crime, Philip Khaikholal Khongsai, an ex-Indian Army soldier as well as president of Moreh Youth Club.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Moreh in Tengnoupal district, Anand Kumar was killed by a sniper while he was on duty at Eastern Shine ground at the border town on October 31 last year.

The SDPO was shot at suspected to be from a sniper rifle while he was supervising the cleaning of Eastern Shine Ground for helicopter landing at Moreh and subsequently succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

People at the border town on Tuesday demanded their release, while Imphal valley witnessed widespread protests demanding handing over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and giving exemplary punishment of the detainees.