Security forces arrested six militants belonging to various banned outfits from two districts of Manipur, police said on Thursday.
The arrests were made on Wednesday.
Security personnel apprehended the self-styled “founder chairman” of the Kangleipak Communist Party - People’s War Group (KCP-PWG) along with four active cadres of the outfit from the Langol area in Imphal West district, a police officer said.
In a separate operation, a 24-year-old member of the banned United National Liberation Front (Pambei) was arrested from Lilong Chajing in Thoubal district for alleged involvement in a bomb explosion in the state, he said.
The UNLF (P) had signed a peace agreement with the Centre in 2023, but its members continue to be arrested for alleged involvement in criminal activities, the officer added.
The arrests came amid fresh violence in the state on Wednesday, when suspected militants shot dead three Kuki-Zo church leaders and injured four others in Kangpokpi district.
The church delegates were returning to Kangpokpi after attending the United Baptist Church Conference in Churachandpur when they were attacked around 11 am. Both districts are Kuki-Zo-majority areas.
The deceased were identified by the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) as Rev. V. Sitlhou, Rev. Kaigoulen and Pastor Paogoulen.
In another incident in Noney district, a civilian identified as Wilson Thanga was killed in an attack by suspected militants while returning home with his wife in a car. Thanga died on the spot, while his wife suffered injuries.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) and the KZC condemned the killing of the church leaders and alleged that the ambush was carried out by the Kamsom faction of the Zeliangrong United Front along with valley-based militant groups. The ZUF has denied involvement in the attack.
Chief minister Y. Khemchand Singh said the “dastardly terror act of armed miscreants firing upon a group of civilians” had resulted in the death of three civilians and injuries to four others. Three of the injured were shifted to Shija Hospitals and Research Institute in Imphal.
Khemchand, deputy chief minister Losii Dikho and home minister Govindas Konthoujam visited the injured at the hospital.
Manipur has witnessed the killing of at least 260 people and the displacement of thousands in ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities since May 2023.