Manipur: Tensions Rise as Arambai Tenggol Members Face Arrests

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently carried out arrests in long-pending cases registered during the ethnic violence in Manipur. On June 6, three Kuki-Zo men, Kamginthang Gangte from the Kuki National Army, Thangminlen Mate from the Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal, and Hentinthang Kipgen from a local village volunteer group, were arrested by the NIA for the killing of Manipur police commandos in January 2024. (Kuki Inpi is the apex tribal body that represents the Kukis, with each district in Manipur having a separate chapter and presiding officers, like the Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal.) A shutdown was imposed by civil society groups following the arrests, and Kuki-Zo organisations held protests in Tengnoupal district for two days.

But the arrest that took Imphal to the verge of a lengthy shutdown came late on June 7 when the CBI arrested Arambai Tenggol member Ashem Kanan Singh. The CBI’s official statement said that Ashem was “involved in various criminal activities related to Manipur violence in 2023”. A post on X by the police said Singh was “Head Constable in Manipur Police till he was terminated from service on 3rd March 2025 for his involvement in various criminal activities, including cross-border smuggling of arms”.

Sources in Manipur Police told Frontline that among the many charges against Ashem Singh was that he was part of the Arambai Tenggol group that orchestrated the attack on Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Imphal West, Moirangthem Amit Singh, in 2024. More than 200 members of Arambai Tenggol had barged into the ASP’s residence, abducted him; the officer was beaten up for hours. He was rescued in February 2024. This led to protests from police personnel across Manipur; a press statement by Manipur Police said Arambai Tenggol was leading “many anti-social activities like assaulting civilians, snatching vehicles from public/govt officials” and “indulging in extortion from the common public and businessmen”.

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Ashem Kanan Singh was first arrested and suspended in 2020 for involvement in smuggling arms. After the attack on ASP Amit Singh in 2024, he was suspended for an indefinite period until his services were terminated in March this year.

Imphal at a standstill

There are a number of charges against Arambai Tenggol, ranging from provoking and carrying out violence against the Kuki-Zo, Meitei Christians, and other Meitei who dare to speak up against the group, to orchestration of murders, extortion, theft of ammunition, guns and other weapons from Manipur Police armouries, roughing up of legislators and government officials. The group regularly indulges in moral policing within the community, even going to the extent of administering public oaths that Meitei people will not marry outside the community. The group is allegedly promoted and protected by former Chief Minister Biren Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba.

Women from red zone villages, including Kadangband and Koutruk, in a “torch rally” to protest against the arrest of “village volunteers”, in Imphal on June 10, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

It took the CBI over two years to make a single arrest despite the mountain of charges building up against the group. The arrest of Ashem Kanan Singh was followed almost immediately by the group’s cadre calling for a 10-day bandh in Imphal valley, demanding his immediate release. A few more members of the group were detained along with Singh; they were all eventually released.

As members threatened to self-immolate and lay siege to the Imphal valley, Kourungamba Khuman shared provocative messages on his Facebook profile. One read: “Let me surrender, arrest me instead. Or else there will be too many deaths.” His posts also seemingly refer to talks Arambai Tenggol had with the Manipur Governor. The group claims that the Governor assured them of clemency if they surrendered weapons. There has been no such statement from the Governor or any state agency. There is no legal provision for such clemency and any such arrangement would be prima facie unconstitutional.

However, Arambai Tenggol supporters told Frontline that these arrests went against the alleged promise of clemency and this was the reason for their bandh call.

Before the shutdown was called off, Arambai Tenggol supporters brought Imphal to a standstill. They even dug up important connecting roads, including the road leading to Imphal airport, and blocked roads by building barricades with heaps of mud and sand. In the nights, the chaos worsened, as the group indulged in arson and targeted anybody seen on the streets. The Arambai boasts of more than 60 units spread across the Meitei districts, and each unit created chaos in its own way.

On June 9, one such unit demanded that a popular government be formed by 6 pm the next day, failing which there would be consequences. But the next day, other leaders of the organisation announced that they would suspend the bandh call and follow other forms of protest. This change of stance came on a day when Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba were in Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Within an hour of the meeting, the Arambai announced the withdrawal of the bandh—a timing that raised eyebrows.

Power beyond law

The theatre of the bizarre refuses to quit Imphal, even as the rest of India is confused about what is happening in the State. What is clear is that the Arambai Tenggol is attempting a shapeshift, and going by what transpired in Manipur in recent weeks, the group appears to be succeeding. This goes hand in hand with creating fear about repression by the security forces while openly negotiating ways to evade accountability for the grave crimes that its members are charged with, with active support from many politicians.

Security forces conduct a flag march along the Imphal Airport Road, to enforce a curfew in Imphal on June 8, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

One of these charges is that the group is occupying the abandoned properties of Kuki-Zo families who fled Imphal in the early days of the conflict. In Dewlahland, a locality in Imphal West, Frontline carried out an investigation marking out all the properties of displaced persons. All of them were occupied by the Arambai Tenggol. All properties had visible signage on the gates that mentioned the group’s name and a unit number. Interestingly, the unit number is 34, which refers to the Arambai’s Heingang unit in Biren Singh’s constituency, which the former Chief Minister has won since 2002. When Frontline entered some of these houses, such as the one that belongs to a late Kuki war veteran’s family, the signage inside said “AT Advisor GHQ”. When this reporter attempted to speak to those who were present at the properties, the reporter was turned away aggressively. Some of them bluntly told the reporter that the properties were not owned by Kukis any more and belonged to the Meiteis now.

These properties were initially guarded by security forces, such as the Rapid Action Force (RAF), and sometimes their personnel even stayed at these properties. Eventually, the battalions started leaving one after the other, either for election duty or for other reasons. The campus of the Kuki Christian Church and Kuki Chistian Hospital was the first to be occupied by Arambai Tenggol in early 2024, followed by other properties in the area. Some of the displaced Kuki-Zo homeowners, including government officials, complained to the Manipur Police, RAF and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Arambai cadre were made to leave. But within days, eyewitnesses told this reporter, vehicles bearing the number “Arambai Tenggol Unit 13” started looting the houses. Following this, more cadre in bigger numbers started occupying the properties. This reporter noticed the properties getting marked one after the other from January up until March 2024. By the end of March, all properties in Dewlahland were under the control of Arambai Tenggol. This situation remains unchanged.

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All this is in violation of a Supreme Court order that directs the Manipur government to prevent encroachment on or takeover of properties abandoned by displaced individuals. Yet, illegal encroachment seems to be taking place openly, as in Dewlahland.

Among the protesters whom Frontline met across Imphal, many seemed to be from Biren’s constituency Heingang. At one Meira Peibi protest, Langam Sunita, 51, who is from Luwangsangbam, declared that no Arambai members would be arrested under their watch and the city would burn if they were. “Remove this Governor and form a popular government,” said Sunita, as others echoed the same sentiment. In unison, they proclaimed that Arambai were the only protectors of Imphal and they made them feel safe from “Kuki militants”. “Manipur Police, Army, all useless,” Sunita said.

Two students who spoke to Frontline from Imphal on condition of anonymity said that people were too scared to say anything against Arambai Tenggol even when great inconveniences were caused by shutdowns. “Even going to the market and buying enough to prepare a simple meal is a luxury now,” said one, referring to the steep inflation that has gripped the State for months now. But the other student posed an even more pertinent question. “If an organisation can shut down a city during President’s Rule and nothing happens, what does this point to? Where does their power stem from?”

Greeshma Kuthar is an independent journalist and lawyer from Tamil Nadu. Her primary focus is investigating the evolving methods of the far right, their use of cultural nationalism regionally, and their attempts to assimilate caste identities into the RSS fold.