A commander of the Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei radical group, has been arrested in connection with the murder of a differently-abled Muslim youth, Manipur police said on Sunday night.

A police statement said: “The main accused, Longjam Khaba Singh, 35, of Yumnam Huidrom Thiyam Leishangkhong, a commander of the Arambai Tenggol, who was involved in the murder of Md Chesam Abdul Kadir of Paobitek Mayai Leikai, has been arrested today (Sunday) from a place at Mongsangei Makha Leikai Arubam Leikai near Puthiba Laibung Complex, Imphal West.”

Khaba’s arrest takes the total number of arrests in the case to ten. He was apprehended around 6.50pm on Sunday.

Nine persons, six from the Arambai Tenggol and three civilians, had earlier been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Md Chesam Abdul Kadir, a 29-year-old Meitei Pangal (Muslim) man, even before his body was exhumed near the Imphal river last Tuesday.

Kadir had gone missing on the intervening night of June 10 and 11. The police had initially registered a missing persons case, which was later converted into a murder case following the recovery of the body — a discovery that sparked protests in the Imphal valley. Kadir had allegedly been accused of theft by some individuals prior to his disappearance.

The Meitei Pangal (Muslim) community has, like the Nagas, remained neutral in the ongoing ethnic conflict between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos.

The United Meitei-Pangal Committee (UMPC) termed the incident an “inhumane killing” in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Copies of the letter were also sent to the Union home minister, Manipur governor, chief secretary, director-general of police, the United Nations Human Rights Office, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, among others.

“We are compelled to bring to your urgent and immediate attention the barbaric, cold-blooded, and inhumane killing of Chesam Abdul Kadir, a mentally challenged innocent civilian from Paobitek Mayai Leikai, Manipur... It is extremely alarming to note that this is not the first time such atrocities have been perpetrated by the so-called armed vigilante group, Arambai Tenggol... creating a deep sense of fear and insecurity within the minority community,” the committee stated.

The UMPC demanded the case be handed over to the National Investigation Agency, and sought a ban and legal action against all unlawful armed vigilante groups.

The All Manipur Muslim Students’ Association also alleged Arambai Tenggol’s involvement in the disappearance and killing of Kadir.

In a statement issued on June 19, the association questioned the delay in Khaba’s arrest and asked whether justice in Manipur was being applied “selectively”, while warning of a possible mass protest if justice was not served.