Newmai News Network Imphal | June 8 One of Manipur’s top rebel leader was today convicted by a special court of NIA, Guwahati. According to an Imphal-based newspaper, the NIA court verdict, announced on Wednesday, convicted Chairman of the banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF) RK Meghen to 10 years rigorous imprisonment. The court also announced imprisonment of 7 to 10 years for 17 other members of the UNLF. Meghen, also known as Sanayaima, has been fighting for nearly 35 years since he left his home in Imphal to lead an armed fight for Manipur sovereignty. He believes that Manipur is “under Martial Law and that the "most democratic means to resolve conflict is plebiscite.” The 70-year-old, a member of Manipur’s erstwhile Royal family, is a graduate of International Relations from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He was arrested by a team of NIA from Dhaka in 2011. Since then, he had been detained in the custody of NIA, Guwahati. Before his arrest, 11 UNLF activists were arrested and then more were further arrested after investigation by NIA. UNLF claims that Meghen was arrested from Dhaka by a combined team of Indian intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and its Bangladeshi counterparts before being handed over to India. The former chairman of UNLF was charged for “waging war” against India by the NIA.
