22 Northeast Insurgents Wanted In Manipur And Assam Flown From Myanmar To India In An Operation Driven By NSA Doval

In a major development and a symbol of deepening ties between India and Myanmar, the Myanmarese military handed over 22 Northeast insurgents, wanted in Manipur and Assam, to India on Friday (15 May), reports Hindustan Times.

As an outcome of the operation which was steered by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval himself, insurgents were flown to India on a special plane which first made a stopover in Imphal in Manipur, and then in Guwahati in Assam. They have now been handed over to the local police administrations.

The development gains much significance as according to a government official quoted in the report, it is the first instance when Myanmar has taken action on India's request to extradite the leaders of the northeast insurgent groups. The success of the operation is being attributed to the bolstering intelligence and defence cooperation between the two neighbouring nations.

Among the 22 insurgents who have been brought to India from Myanmar, 12 are linked to four rebel groups from Manipur, namely, UNLF, PREPAK (Pro), KYKL, and PLA. Meanwhile, the ten others are linked to Assam based rebel groups NDFB (S) and KLO.

Those brought back include Rajen Daimary who is the self-styled home secretary of the NDFB (S) and has been wanted by the authorities for long. The other wanted leaders to have been brought back include UNLF's Captain Sanatomba Ningthoujam and PREPAK (Pro)'s Lt Pashuram Laishram.