Myanmar Army hands over 5 militants to Manipur police; group involved in Nov 13 terror attack

The Myanmar Army on Wednesday handed over five hardcore cadre of the banned Revolutionary People's Front (RPF) outfit, believed to be involved in the November 13 attack, to the Manipur police.

Imphal (Manipur):The Myanmar Army on Wednesday handed over five hardcore militants of the banned Revolutionary People's Front (RPF) outfit, a sister wing of the outlawed People's Liberation Army (PLA), to the Manipur police, officials said.

A policeman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, revealed that a special flight carrying the five Manipur-based RPF militants landed at the Imphal airport on Wednesday morning and the extremists were subsequently handed to the state police.

The group, according to sources, was involved in the November 13 attack in which Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife and son, and four other personnel of the Assam Rifles were killed in Churachandpur district bordering Myanmar.

Police, however, are yet to officially confirm the group's involvement.

The RPF guerrillas, who are natives of Manipur, were immediately taken to an undisclosed location by the police and are being interrogated by the senior officials.

Sources said that the five RPF cadre led by their leader Devani were provided medical treatment in a Myanmar hospital for some ailments after they were nabbed by the Myanmar military at Monywa in the Sagaing region of northwestern Myanmar in August last year.

(With agency inputs)