Stalemate on release of 2 Meitei hostages: Kuki groups want prisoners moved, security officials not keen to relent

On Wednesday, Inner Manipur MP from the Congress Bimol Akoijam wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, calling the situation an “act of terrorism.”

“It should go without saying that putting up demands in exchange for the hostages is an act of terrorism and we as a country must not succumb to such terror tactics. I earnestly urge you to use all the resources under your good office to ensure the safe release of Oinam Thoithoi Singh and Thockchom Thoithoiba Meitei. Their families are in deep distress and their safety must be prioritised without delay,” he wrote.

This week saw Manipur DGP Rajiv Singh and Kuki groups hold meetings in Kangpokpi on all three days. On Tuesday, Naga MLA Losii Dikho, who is a representative of BJP ally Naga People’s Front, also travelled to Kangpokpi to meet with the groups.

While there are reports that one of the groups’ core demands is for the release of Mark Haokip, who was arrested in 2022 and is accused of being a secessionist aiming for a separate Kuki nation, in exchange for the two hostages, the only demand that both the state government and the groups in Kangpokpi have confirmed is the transfer of Kuki-Zomi inmates from the central jail in Sajiwa, Imphal, to a location somewhere in the hill areas in the state.

A Kuki mediator who has been part of the meetings said they had also suggested an alternative but that it has so far not been heeded to.

“They are not listening to our demands and are not ready to shift them. Being mediators, we have requested that if they are not ready to do this, then we want them to establish a police station in the Phailengmol area. This area is under the Kangpokpi revenue district but comes under the police jurisdiction of Imphal East (part of the Meitei-majority valley),” this mediator told The Indian Express.

According to this representative, a police station would help bring a “sense of security in the area”.

“Even if they fulfil just this demand, we mediators can convince the village volunteers who have captured them,” he said, using a term that’s commonly employed to refer to armed men on both sides.

However, a senior security official said that the aim is to secure unconditional release without engaging with any demands.

Meanwhile, the citizen group, Joint Action Committee, called a shutdown that affected daily life in five Imphal valley districts on Wednesday.