- Source: RK Meghen
Rajkumar Meghen (born 21 September 1944) alias Sana Yaima (precious son) is a Manipuri separatist politician and former chairman of United National Liberation Front.
Personal life
Meghen is the second son of RK Madhuyarajit Singh & Laitonjam Ningol Hemabati, and the great grandson of Prince Tikhendrajit(however there is no significant evidence to proof the claim as Prince Tikendrajit died as a bachelor), the military commander for Manipur Kingdom in the Anglo Manipuri War. He graduated from St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College in Kolkata and went for his Master's degree from Jadavpur University in International Relations.
Meghen has two sons; Chingkhei and Chinglen. The elder son Chingkhei works at Manipur University while second son Chinglen is unemployed, once work as distributor of Airtel owning a company name M/S Landmark in Thangmeiband but dissolved the company after he was accused to killing a journalist and his name came on charge-sheet of CBI.
UNLF
RK Meghen reportedly joined UNLF in 1976. In 1975, he left Manipur and trekked to a militant camp in Myanmar’s Somra Tract led by Thuingaleng Muivah and S. S. Khaplang; his younger son was six days old. He became chairman of UNLF in 1998.
In 2010, he was arrested at Bangladesh and soon, handed over to India. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged him along with 18 other leaders for waging a war on India and raising funds by extorting the state government and private bodies. In June 2016, the NIA Court pronounced a guilty verdict on 11 sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act; Meghen was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He declined to appeal for leniency and rejected that Indian Courts had any sovereign rights to litigate him.
In November 2019, his sentence was commuted by about 10 months owing to his contributions to the jail like setting up a library, a music school for jail inmates and construction of a garden inside the Guwahati Central Jail and he was released from jail — in what was widely perceived to be a governmental strategy during the Naga Peace talks. However, he was disallowed by the National Investigation Agency to immediately return to Manipur and instead transported to a safe house in Guwahati followed by Delhi. On November 28, he was finally allowed to leave for Imphal. Meghen has since spent a quite life, away from media attention.
