NIA Makes First Arrest In Killing Of 6 Meiteis Including Infant In Manipur's Jiribam

A suspect in the kidnapping and killing of three women and three children from the Meitei community in Manipur's Jiribam in November 2024 has been arrested, marking the first breakthrough in the case being handled by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The Assam Police said they arrested the suspect, identified as Thanglienlal Hmar alias Boya, based on information provided by the NIA, and handed him over to the country's top anti-terror investigation agency.

The arrest comes three weeks after the Manipur High Court ordered the NIA to give a report on the case, and two days after it ordered the NIA to file a chargesheet within a month.

The NIA in a statement said Thanglienlal Hmar, a resident of Assam's Cachar district, "was actively involved in the conspiracy and execution of the horrendous crime."

Key Conspirator in Brutal Jiribam Killing of 3 Women & 3 Children Arrested by Joint NIA- Assam Police Team pic.twitter.com/ny52ULF9Pt

— NIA India (@NIA_India) July 31, 2025

The members of the Meitei community who were kidnapped from Jiribam, a district bordering Assam, and whose mutilated bodies were found floating in a river days later, were Yumrembam Rani Devi (60), Telem Thoibi Devi (31) and her daughter Telem Thajamanbi Devi (8), Laishram Heithoibi Devi (25) and her two children Laishram Chingkheinganba Singh (2.5 years old) and Laishram Lamnganba Singh (10 months old).

At that time, the Manipur cabinet in a resolution had called the suspects "Kuki militants".

The arrested suspect, however, belongs to the Hmar tribe, a distinct tribe and not part of the Kuki nomenclature. The Kukis in Manipur along with the Zomi and Hmar tribes have been rallying behind the banner of "Kuki-Zo" since ethnic violence with the Meiteis began in May 2023.

The women and children were kidnapped from Jiribam's Bokobera neighbourhood while another group of militants were engaged in a gunfight with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Ten of the militants were shot dead in the encounter.