Overview
- The National Investigation Agency arrested S. Palal Thadou and produced him before the Special NIA Court in Imphal, which remanded him to 10 days of police custody; officials called him the first accused in the probe.
- Investigators say Thadou admitted to serving as the finance head of the proscribed United Kuki National Army and was earlier held by Assam Rifles, Churachandpur police and Bishnupur police.
- Police statements link him to multiple prior violent incidents, including a December 16 blast at Tronglaobi and several firing episodes in February, March and July that security forces say were part of wider operations.
- The April 7 explosive that struck a Tronglaobi house killed two children and injured their mother, and investigators recovered an unexploded improvised RPG near the scene as they re-registered the case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Explosive Substances Act and the UAPA.
- The NIA says technical forensics, digital analysis and human intelligence work will continue to identify other suspects and map the network while local protests and communal tensions from the April attack remain a security concern.