By Kavita Mistry 
Manipur Police have arrested an active member of the proscribed People’s Liberation Army of Manipur (PLA-MP), who is the prime accused in the 2021 ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy that killed five personnel, including a Commanding Officer and his family, officials said on Saturday.
The arrested individual has been identified as Sagolshem Sanatomba Singh (27), a resident of Thoubal district. He was arrested from the same district during a targeted operation, officials confirmed.
According to a statement issued by the Manipur Police Control Room, Sanatomba is named in a case investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). A mobile phone and two SIM cards were recovered from his possession during the arrest.
Sanatomba had been on the NIA’s wanted list in connection with the deadly ambush that took place near Sehkan village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, along the India-Myanmar border, in November 2021. The attack, jointly carried out by cadres of the People’s Liberation Army of Manipur (PLA-MP) and the Manipur Naga People’s Front (MNPF), targeted the convoy of the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 46 Assam Rifles.
The ambush resulted in the deaths of five personnel, including the Commanding Officer, his wife, and their son, and left six others injured. In January 2022, the NIA announced a cash reward of Rs 6 lakh for credible information leading to Sanatomba’s arrest. He was among 10 insurgents named in the case.
The NIA had registered a case under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, and the Explosive Substances Act in connection with the incident.
Authorities said the arrest is a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into one of the deadliest insurgent attacks in recent years in Manipur.