Imphal: Big success for security forces in Manipur. Most wanted Kuki militant and self-styled major Nokjaging, alias Tiger along with two of his associates arrested in an operation by Assam Rifles and state police team.
SS Major Nokjaging, alias Tiger, was one of the most wanted terrorists in trouble-hit state for his involvement in many killings, abduction and terror activities.
Arrested militant Tigar has been in the most wanted list of CBI since 2023 for his involvement in abduction and killing of a young Meitei boy and a girl. Manipur ethnic conflict. In a major overnight operation in the Churachandpur region, Assam Rifles apprehended Tiger along with two other cadres of the United Kuki National Army — better known as UKNA, one of the most active armed insurgent groups operating outside any peace agreement with the Government of India.
The crime list of Tiger is long, and it is horrifying.
Tiger is a prime suspect in the kidnapping and killing of two Meitei students — teenagers Linthoingambi and Phijam Hemanjit — who disappeared without a trace in 2023. Their case shook the conscience of the nation. The CBI took it over. And Tiger remained their most-wanted accused. Later the bodies of the innocent students were recovered on the hill side.
He is also linked to:
- The brazen attack on former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s convoy in Jiribam in 2024
- The cold-blooded killing of Meitei woodcutters going about their daily work
- Targeted attacks on civilian vehicles during the height of the ethnic conflict
- Systematic destruction of infrastructure across the violence-hit region
The 2024 killing of KNA Deputy Commander-in-Chief Thapi — a crime that sent shockwaves through insurgent circles themselves
Assam Rifles launched a precise, intelligence-based operation in Churachandpur — a district that has been at the epicentre of Manipur’s prolonged ethnic strife.
Three UKNA cadres were nabbed. Tiger was among them. The other two arrested have been identified as Thongpi Guite, 33, and Shokhomang Baite, 40.
From their possession, security forces seized a deadly haul: One AK-47 rifle with magazine, One 9mm pistol with magazine, Two hand grenades, 31 live rounds of assorted calibres and Two mobile phones. Tiger has been handed over to the CBI. The central investigation agency is likely to bring him to Guwahati for further investigation.
