A 51-year-old private school teacher was arrested on Saturday by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the recent Kwakta Bomb Blast Case. However, his wife firmly believes that he was wrongly implicated in the case.
The NIA issued a press statement on Saturday, stating that Seiminlun Gangte was arrested in a case related to a transnational conspiracy by Myanmar and Bangladesh-based leadership of terror outfits to wage war against the Government of India by exploiting the current ethnic unrest. The case was registered suo moto by the NIA on 19.07.2023 in New Delhi.
Confirming this, the Manipur Police stated that in a joint intelligence-based operation with the NIA, they apprehended one of the prime suspects in RC. No. 01/2023/NIA (Recent Kwakta Bomb Blast Case) – Seiminlun Gangte, from the Torbung area in Churachandpur District. They said has been arrested in connection with the Transnational Conspiracy Case of NIA, which was orchestrated by the Chin-Kuki-Mizo Group based in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Subsequently, he has been transported to Delhi for presentation before the Delhi Special NIA Court.
However, disagreeing with the charges leveled against her husband, Mangcy Gangte (45) said her husband was wrongly implicated in this case. “My husband worked as a private school teacher in VN English Model School at Kwakta until the ethnic crisis unfolded in the state. He never had any record of criminal activities or cases in the past. We are just a simple family of four surviving on a meager income,” said a visibly dejected Gangte.
After the ethnic violence broke out in the state, Mangcy Gangte and her husband, Seiminlun Gangte, moved to Churachandpur district headquarters from Kwakta, where her husband served as a private school teacher. Currently, they are sheltered in one of the relief centers in Churachandpur.
Mangcy Gangte said, “After our arrival in Churachandpur, my husband worked as a ‘middleman’ for one Muslim, Kamal from Kwakta, who regularly supplies hardware items to Churachandpur. Kamal would usually transport the items to Pholjang village, a village situated on the border between Churachandpur and Bishnupur district. From there, my husband would usually take it to Churachandpur town and deliver to the customers. A small amount of commission received from the transaction helps our family survive. My husband, a debilitated person with a Pile case and gastrointestinal infections, is even exempted from rotational frontline duty. How can such a weak person conspire to carry out a terror act of that much intensity – a bomb blast of which he is implicated?”
“Our school principal also inquired about our well-being and wondered how such an innocent person can be arrested in a case related to terror. This surely must be a mischievous ploy of some sinister person,” Gangte said.
The Principal of VN Model English High School declared that Seiminlun Gangte has no involvement in any anti-social activities and has no record of anti-national activities to his knowledge.
Before their departure to New Delhi, an NIA official allegedly called Mangcy Gangte from Imphal Airport and informed her that her husband was in their custody. She requested to speak to her husband, and they allowed them a brief conversation. During the call, the NIA official mentioned that an arrest warrant had been issued on 19th September. In response, Mangcy Gangte questioned why the authorities hadn’t arrested her husband from their location in the Relief Center, as he was not evading arrest. Seiminlun Gangte was apprehended from the Torbung area in Churachandpur district at around 2:00 PM on Saturday.
“They are trying to make my husband their ‘scapegoat’ by wrongly implicating him in a case where he is not related at all and using him as a sacrificial lamb for their incompetence,” she lamented.
Accordingly, a missing/abduction case was filed by the wife, Mangcy Gangte, at Churachandpur Police Station on Saturday night. Gangte and her family originally hail from J. Phaikholum village in Thanlon Sub-Division, Pherzawl district, and settled in Kwakta until June 2023, where her husband served as a private teacher from 2018. Her two sons are currently studying in Tripura.
On June 21st, a car explosion in Bishnupur’s Kwakta area left three civilians injured. The explosion occurred when a bomb planted inside an SUV parked at a culvert detonated, possibly triggered after the driver had left the vehicle.
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The case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). This transfer came amid suspicions of involvement by insurgents operating within the state and across the border, prompting the move to the NIA for national security considerations.
Also Read | Manipur violence: SUV explodes in Bishnupur; 3 injured
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