Imphal: National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested the second prime accused in the murder of a Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) from Moreh in Manipur. Nearly a year and a half after a district police team came under fire during Manipur’s ethnic conflict, the NIA has arrested the second prime accused in the murder of a Sub-Divisional Police Officer — a case that has come to symbolise the targeted violence against security forces during the state’s darkest period.
The arrested militant has been identified as Otkhothang Baite, also known as Othang Baite, a resident of Moreh in Tengnoupal district. “He is one of the key conspirators in the October 31, 2023 attack in which suspected Kuki militants opened fire on a district police team, fatally wounding SDPO Chingtham Anandkumar Singh”, NIA sources said.
The NIA confirmed the arrest in an official statement, saying: “2nd prime accused, Otkhothang Baite, has been arrested in the 2023 killing of a sub divisional police officer (SDPO) in an attack by suspected Kuki militants in Manipur. One accused was arrested in the case earlier this month.”
It should be mentioned that on October 31, 2023 SDPO Chingtham Anandkumar Singh and his team were attacked by Kuki militants. The officer, who was performing his duty in one of the most volatile periods in Manipur’s recent history, did not survive his injuries. His killing sent a chilling message — that even uniformed officers of the state were not beyond reach.
Local police registered the case initially. By March 2024, the gravity of the matter had brought the NIA into the picture. The agency took over the investigation, framing it as a terror conspiracy — one specifically designed to spread fear among security forces and civilians alike in an already fractured state.
The NIA’s move against Baite marks the second significant breakthrough in the case within weeks.
Another prime accused Kamginthang Gangte, a resident of Mandoi in Moreh was arrested in June 2025 by NIA, and investigators have indicated that the probe is far from over. Further arrests are expected as the agency continues to map the full network behind the October 2023 attack.
The ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities have claimed over 260 lives, displaced more than 60,000 people, and turned entire districts into conflict zones policed by fear. Of late the situation in the state became tense again after Kuki militants attacked and killed two Naga persons in Ukhrul district.
