The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a 32-year-old native of Manipur, Rajkumar Mypaksana, an accused in the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur, from Kerala’s Thalassery.

NIA sleuths have taken Rajkumar into custody on Friday evening from a local hotel in Thalassery, posing as health officials conducting routine monsoon disease checks. NIA officers visited workers’ lodgings and demanded identity verification.

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Rajkumar was apprehended after checking his Aadhaar card. A distinctive tattoo on his neck helped confirm his identity. When he learned that he had been arrested, Rajkumar followed the instructions of the officials without any hesitation.

The arrest comes after months of investigation by the NIA. The agency had been monitoring Rajkumar’s movements for the past few days and it reportedly did not alert the Kerala Police about the operation.

Rajkumar, hailing from Imphal, is reportedly trained by the proscribed United National Liberation Front (UNLF), a banned militant group. He is arrested in connection with a case registered in Imphal linked to the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.

The NIA Officials have also recovered a fake passport from Rajkumar, which he had allegedly attempted to use to travel abroad, but failed.

Rajkumar arrived in Kerala last month and had travelled across several districts before taking up a job in the Thalassery hotel.