On August 12, 2025, Manipur Police arrested Elangbam Bijeshwori Devi (22), an active cadre of the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak-Progressive (PREPAK-PRO), from the Hiyanglam Awang Leikai area of the Kakching District in Manipur.
On August 9, 2025, security forces (SFs) arrested an active PREPAK-PRO cadre, Wahengbam Kiran Singh aka Amuthoi (25), from Kumbi Thingel Leikai under the Kumbi Police Station in the Bishnupur District of Manipur.
On August 4, 2025, SFs arrested an active PREPAK cadre identified as Pangambam Kepten Singh aka Sachikanta (51) from Thoubal Haokha Maning Leikai in the Thoubal District of Manipur.
On August 3, 2025, Manipur Police arrested an active PREPAK cadre, Sorokhaibam Rohit Meitei aka Salai (24), from Itham Thongkhong, Pungdongbam under the Lamlai Police Station in Imphal East District, Manipur.
According to partial data combined by South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), 104 PREPAK cadres (including its factions) have been arrested in 83 separate incidents in 2025 alone, while 33 PREPAK cadres were arrested in 17 separate incidents in 2024, and nine PREPAK cadres were arrested in six separate incidents in 2023. A total of 1,209 PREPAK cadres have been arrested in 876 separate incidents since 2000, when SATP started compiling data on India's Northeast. (Data till August 17, 2025.)
In 2025, PREPAK-led violence resulted in a total of 24 fatalities in a single continuing incident between January 27 and 30, during a gunfight between Manipur-based insurgent outfits, including the People's Liberation Army (PLA)/ Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL)/ United National Liberation Front - Koireng (UNLF-K) and PREPAK, with the Myanmar-based Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B), in an area of Yaingoupk/Wangli village Border Pillar number 87, in the Kamjong District of Manipur, near the Indo-Myanmar border. 19 KNA-B militants, two cadres of PLA/KYKL, a PLA cadre identified as self-styled 'captain' Henthoiba aka Salam Nganba Meitei (28), one UNLF/ Manipur People's Army (MPA) militant identified as 'captain' Chirom Chiromcha aka Robindro, and one KYKL/ Meeyamgi Yawol Lanmee (MYL) cadre identified as Pvt. Moirangthem Sushil aka Athouba (21), were killed during the gunfight. Four PLA/KYKL militants also sustained injuries. A total of 230 fatalities [165 terrorists, 18 SF personnel, 36 civilians and 11 in the Not Specified (NS) category] have been recorded in 113 PREPAK-led violent incidents since 2000.
Some other recent PREPAK-led incidents of significant violence include:
December 14, 2024: A suspected PREPAK cadre, Laishram Prem Singh, was killed in an encounter with the Police in the Salungpham area of Thoubal District in Manipur. Six PREPAK cadres were also arrested during the incident, who were identified as Thokchom Momocha (41), Sarangthem Anand Singh (36), Ningthoujam Karna (27), Ningthoujam Manoranjan Singh (21) Thongam Phalguni alias Urikpa (27) and Moirangthem Johnson (21). Three 5.56 mm INSAS rifles with four magazines, one 5.56 mm AMOGH rifle with two magazines, one 7.62 mm self-loading rifle (SLR) with two magazines, one .303 rifle with magazine, and a cache of ammunition were recovered from their possession.
September 6, 2024: PREPAK claimed responsibility for shooting and injuring a civilian, Meisnam Abhi Singh (40), in the Wangoo Police Station jurisdiction of the Kakching District in Manipur. The outfit accused Singh of extorting money from civilians under PREPAK's name, despite prior warnings to desist. In its statement, PREPAK described the leg injury as a "first-time punishment" and warned that collaborators and others engaged in similar activities would face severe consequences, unless they surrendered to the outfit.
January 26, 2023: PREPAK claimed responsibility for a blast which occurred in Wangkhei Yonglan Leirak (Lane) in Imphal East District in which a boy sustained injuries. It also claimed responsibility for a similar blast a day earlier, on January 25, at the Gandhi Statue platform of Ukhrul town in Ukhrul District, Manipur, in which three persons were injured. PREPAK claimed that the outfit had planted bombs at Kyamgei Pal Ahanbi in Imphal East District (along the Imphal-Moreh Highway), Keirao Langdum Lamkhai in Imphal East District and Heingang Khong in Imphal East District (along the Pangei-Saikul Road) but the bombs failed to detonate. These operations were carried out by the Red Army Special Task Force A, B and C of PREPAK, as part of the boycott of India's Republic Day celebrations (January 26) in Manipur.
Significantly on October 9, 2024, on the occasion of its 47th raising day, through a statement issued by its 'interim council', PREPAK 'chairman' Aheiba Angom asserted that the Kuki-Zo groups received patronage from the Indian state. The statement alleged that New Delhi facilitated the expansion of Kuki-Zo militant forces by providing arms, ammunition, and logistical support. Angom further contended that, in order to mitigate international criticism over potential human rights violations and breaches of international law in the region, the Indian state employed a strategy of indirect engagement, utilizing Kuki-Zo militants as proxies in its confrontation with insurgent groups in Western South East Asia (WESEA).
Not surprisingly, on November 13, 2023, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) declared nine Meitei extremist organisations of Manipur, including PREPAK, "unlawful associations" under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for a period of five years. The nine banned groups were "the Peoples' Liberation Army (PLA) and its political wing, the Revolutionary Peoples' Front (RPF), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its armed wing, the Manipur Peoples' Army (MPA), the Peoples' Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and its armed wing, the 'Red Army', the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and its armed wing, also called the 'Red Army', the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), the Coordination Committee (CorCom) and the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK) along with all their factions, wings and front organisations." According to the notification, these nine Meitei groups have been banned for allegedly "engaging in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India", and to curb their "secessionist, subversive, terrorist and violent activities."
PREPAK is an underground armed insurgent group operating in Manipur since its inception in 1977. It was founded during a meeting at Cheirouching, Imphal, on October 9, 1977, led by R.K. Tulachandra and six others - S. Wanglen, Achamba, Tajila, Meiraba (Urikhingbam Sarat), Meipaksana, Y. Ibohanbi, and Paliba. PREPAK's core demand has been the establishment of a separate, independent state of Manipur, framed within a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideological perspective, blending separatism with communist revolutionary ideals.
During its formative years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, PREPAK carried out a series of armed operations - ambushes and raids targeting police and paramilitary forces - to capture arms and strengthen its position. In 1980, a splinter group broke away to form the KCP, led by Y. Ibahanbi (Ibohanbi). Following the death of founder R.K. Tulachandra, in a clash on 11 November 1985 at Kabowakching, S. Wanglen assumed the role of 'commander-in-chief.'
By the late 1980s and early 1990s, internal divisions escalated, with multiple factions emerging. Factionalism has been a recurring theme in PREPAK's trajectory, often weakening its cohesion but also giving rise to splinter organizations that shaped Manipur's insurgent landscape. The first major split occurred in 1980, when a section of cadres under Y. Ibohanbi Singh broke away to form the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), citing differences in strategy and leadership direction. Internal disputes continued after the death of founding leader R.K. Tulachandra in 1985, leading to multiple factions vying for legitimacy. By the early 2000s, these divisions culminated in several rival groups, the most prominent being PREPAK (Progressive), also known as PREPAK-Pro, which emerged in 2006 under the leadership of Chinglemba Mangang. This faction later played a pivotal role in the formation of the United People's Party of Kangleipak (UPPK) in 2007, which eventually merged into the larger Coordination Committee (CorCom) of valley-based insurgent outfits. At times, PREPAK also witnessed smaller breakaway units, often aligned with either Myanmar-based sanctuaries or Bangladesh training camps, reflecting both ethnic divides and competition over external support networks.
PREPAK maintains an hierarchically structured organization. At the top sits the Central Committee, responsible for strategic political and military directives. The armed wing, known as the Red Army, operates under a 'commander-in-chief.' There are also district commands, segmented into smaller units, each led by subordinate ranks such as lieutenants and sergeants, along with a women's wing dedicated to organizational tasks
PREPAK's area of operations encompasses the Imphal Valley, neighbouring hilly regions of southern Manipur, and spillovers into adjacent areas of Mizoram and Assam. Several sources note training and staging camps across the Nagaland-Myanmar border, with support from the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) and historical links to Myanmar's Kachin Independence Army (KIA), as well as camps in Bangladesh. PREPAK has been an integral member of CorCom, a conglomerate of Valley-based militant organizations in Manipur that includes KCP, KYKL, UNLF, PLA, RPF, and UPPK, among others.
Beyond armed struggle, launched a social reformation campaign in the early 1990s, aimed at combating social ills such as rape, drug abuse, and alcohol dependence. These activities gained prominence under the leadership of Meiraba.
PREPAK's trajectory illustrates the enduring complexities of insurgent politics in Manipur and the wider Northeast region of India. Since its inception in 1977, PREPAK has evolved from a small separatist outfit into a prominent armed group with shifting strategies, multiple factions, and a long record of militant activities. Its operational practices have been shaped by local grievances, factional rivalries, and transnational support networks across the Myanmar and Bangladesh borders. The group's trajectory underscores the centrality of factionalism, with splinter organizations both fragmenting and diversifying the insurgent landscape in Manipur. Despite recurrent arrests, sustained counter-insurgency measures, and its proscription under UAPA, PREPAK continues to assert its relevance through armed action, public statements, and alignment with larger militant conglomerates such as CorCom.
The persistence of PREPAK and its factions highlights the challenges of insurgency management in the Northeast, where security measures alone have failed to resolve deeper political, ethnic, and economic tensions. Unless accompanied by inclusive political engagement and long-term developmental responses, groups like PREPAK are likely to remain entrenched in the region's conflict dynamics.
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