More than 40 drone bombs were dropped by Kuki terrorists in the September 2024 attack in Manipur, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told court. These bombs were dropped in Koutruk and Kadangband villages in Imphal. The kingpin who bought these drone bombs has been identified as Khaigoulen Kipgen from Gamngai village.
Delhi-based Raj Kumar and Rohtak-based Vikram Chaudhary have been named as the suppliers of drones by NIA. The NIA said Kipgen bought drones and batteries from Raj Kumar and Vikram Chaudhary by paying money in cash and online.
According to the FIR filed by the NIA, which is based on the information received by the local police on September 1, 2024, some unknown Kuki militants attacked Koutruk village at about 2.06 pm using sophisticated weapons and dropping grenade bombs from flying drones and the incident led to the death of one woman, aged about 31 years and her 9-year-old daughter sustained severe injuries. A case was registered against the unknown Kuki militants for investigation.
Top intelligence sources have said that this was an unprecedented and major escalation in the ethnic clashes between the Kukis and Meiteis in Manipur. There is involvement of “highly trained professionals” possibly with technical expertise and support from a foreign agency, sources said.
