The state of Manipur, in Northeastern India , is still run amongst chao and violence. The unrest in the state first began last May and the recent incident involves the kidnapping of 4 members including 3 of them being related to the serving military officers . These four people were allegedly kidnapped by Meitei militants in Imphal West district on Tuesday.
The local people who are familiar with the issue said that this incident will ultimately trigger a fresh round of violence in ethnic strife-torn Manipur.
Image source : The Week.
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How it went down :
Once the news about the abduction started spreading, armed Kuki militants fired bullets towards a group of people in Kangchup area along Imphal West and Kangpokpi districts, seven people, including two policemen and a woman were injured.
In a statement police officials said that even as late as Tuesday night , there was no trace of the four people to be found. But earlier , two men and two women – kidnapped by militants ,were rescued by the security forces . These 4 people were seen traveling with a 65 year old man.
Image source : Hindustan times.
Kidnapping of the victims :
A senior police officer , under the condition of anonymity said “Five Kuki people were returning to Kangpokpi from Churachandpur(both Kuki-dominated districts). But they were supposedly detained and assaulted by a gang of Meiteis when they entered Imphal West (a Meitei dominated district) on the border with Kangpokpi,”. Later the security personnel found one of the five, an elderly man, who incurred some injuries but there was no trace of the other four.
The man’s identity was later revealed as Manglun Haokip and was airlifted to a hospital in Dimapur in Nagaland on Tuesday evening. Kangpokpi superintendent of police (SP) M Prabhakar said “ A search party has been organised on ground to locate the missing four “.
Nengkim (60), Neilam (55), John Thangjam Haokip (25) and Jam khotang (40) are the identified 4 abducted people.
Three of the four people kidnapped are the relatives of a serving Indian army soldier who is currently stationed outside the state, according to officials with knowledge of the situation. Tuesday night, Manipur-based army officials also had a conversation with the police, requesting a prompt investigation to find the four residents who had been abducted.
The Firing Episode :
Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a Kuki group, released a statement, condemning the incident , which pointed towards Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei organization, as responsible for the abduction, and also added that all five are Kukis.
We worry that they might be under torture or have been killed. We deeply implore central security forces to initiate an operation to save them right now,” the statement said.
The group acknowledged that after the kidnapping, Kuki “volunteers” opened fire on the “Meitei side.”
“The incident happened early on Tuesday noon. The policemen and others sustained gunshot wounds. The wounded people were reportedly admitted to the hospital for medical observation,” a police office refusing to be named said.
In a somber note , the dispute took the life of at least 178 people and displaced 50,000 in Manipur since May 3, as a result of the ethnic violence ensued in between dominant Meitei and tribal Kuki communities in the northeastern state.
