NIA Arrests KIT Spokesperson Thangminlen Mate in Connection with IRB Post Attack; KOHUR Condemns Detention as Unlawful

In a significant development in the investigation into the deadly January 2024 militant attack on an Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) post in Manipur, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Thangminlen Mate, also known as Lenin Mate. The arrest, made on Sunday in Silchar, Assam, marks the first in the case, which has remained unresolved for over 16 months.

The January 17, 2024, assault—allegedly carried out by suspected militants in the Tengnoupal district’s Moreh area—left one police officer dead and two others injured. While officials have not yet confirmed Mate’s association with any specific militant outfit, his apprehension is being described as a breakthrough in the prolonged investigation.

However, the arrest has drawn sharp criticism from civil society groups, particularly the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), which issued a strong statement condemning what it termed the "arbitrary and unlawful detention" of Mate. According to KOHUR, Mate, a spokesperson for the Kuki Inpi in Tengnoupal, was detained at Ngoupa Village in Aizawl, Mizoram, while traveling with his family to Churachandpur.

KOHUR alleges that the arrest violates Mate’s fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. "This arrest exemplifies a growing pattern of targeted coercion and criminalisation of legitimate Kuki civil society actors under the pretext of legal process," the group stated.

The organisation further criticised what it sees as a pattern of selective enforcement of law, pointing to the lack of action against members of the valley-based group Arambai Tenggol. It claims that the group’s leaders, including a figure named Korounganba, have been named in NIA investigations for serious offences such as the looting of state armouries and collusion with armed state forces—but have so far evaded prosecution.

"These individuals continue to lead public rallies filled with incendiary hate speech, including explicit calls for ethnic cleansing of the Kuki population," KOHUR said. "This differential treatment constitutes a fundamental breach of the principle of equality before the law enshrined in Article 14."

The group called for the unconditional release of Mate and demanded an independent and impartial review of detentions targeting Kuki civil society members. "Justice must be neither selective nor delayed. Where the law becomes a tool of repression rather than protection, it ceases to serve its constitutional purpose," the statement concluded.