Soldier’s family members abducted; gunfights mark tense day in Manipur

According to a security official, five people from the Kuki-Zomi community – four of whom are relatives of an Army soldier – were travelling in a vehicle when they were abducted by unknown miscreants around 8:45 am, close to Kangchup Chinkhong, which is at the border of the Kuki-Zomi dominated Kangpokpi and Meitei-dominated Imphal West district.

The official stated that while one of the five was rescued, the location of the rest continued to be unknown as of Tuesday evening. The person who was rescued has been identified as 65-year-old Manglun Haokip from Bolkot village and has sustained serious injuries because of which he was admitted to the military hospital in Leimakhong.

According to Kuki-Zomi community organizations, the missing people include two women – aged 60 and 55 – and two men, aged 40 and 25.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum held Meitei radical group Arambai Tenggol responsible for the abduction and issued a statement appealing that a search operation be launched by central security forces to rescue them, stating that “we fear they may have been killed or being tortured”.

The group also stated that the firing that took place in the area later that day was initiated by Kuki-Zomi “volunteers” angered by the incident.

At least nine persons, including two police personnel and two women from the Meitei community, were injured in the exchange of gunfire in that area on Tuesday.

Six of the injured have been admitted to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), and three to a private hospital in Imphal.

The firing took place in villages close to Kakngchup Chinkhong at around 11 am and in villages near Singda Kadangband area, where at least seven people were injured.