New Delhi: Five members from the Kuki-Zomi community were abducted from the border of the Kuki-Zomi-dominated Kangpokpi and Meitei-dominated Imphal West district in Manipur on Tuesday, November 8 morning. Of the five abducted, four of them have been identified as family members of a soldier.
Security forces rescued one of the kidnapped persons after the exchange of fire with armed men, who were involved in the abduction. At least nine people, including two policemen, have sustained injuries. Manglun Haokip (65), who was rescued from kidnappers and sustained grievous injuries, has been admitted to the military hospital in Leimakhong.
There was no clue of the whereabouts of others until Tuesday evening, according to police. The Kuki-Zomi community organisations said the missing people include two women – aged 60 and 55 – and two men, aged 40 and 25. They were abducted by armed men around 8:45 am, close to Kangchup Chinkhong, which is at the border of Kangpokpi and Imphal West district.
On 07.11.2023, at Kangchup Chingkhong, a Bolero carrying five individuals(2 women and 3 men) en-route from Churachandpur to Leimakhong was confronted by an enraged mob. The mob forcibly took away four of them, while one escaped. One person from the group was later rescued by…
— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) November 7, 2023
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According to the Indian Express, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum alleged that the Meitei radical group Arambai Tenggol was behind the abduction. The Forum urged central security forces to launch search operations, adding that “we fear they may have been killed or being tortured”.
“The incident was reported on Tuesday morning in the Kangchup Chingkhong village when five civilians in a Bolero car were stopped at a security checkpost. Soon a mob appeared and abducted the four, including two women. The central security forces deployed there could only rescue one of them,” The Hindu quoted a source as saying.
According to the Forum, Haokip was rescued by security personnel after attackers left him thinking he was dead. “In the ensuing scuffle, 65-year-old Manglun Haokip from Bolkot village was injured and fell unconscious. Thinking him dead the attackers left him. CRPF personnel later found him and transported him to Leimakhong. Due to the severity of his injuries, he has been airlifted to a neighbouring state,” Forum said in a statement.
