4 Manipur cops blindfolded, abducted and assaulted; 2 Arambai Tenggol members held

On Monday morning, the Manipur Police issued a statement saying two men identified as Taibanganba Sanoujam, 25, and Moirangthem Bobo, 40, belonging to Arambai Tenggol have been arrested for the abduction and physical assault of the personnel. “Search operations continue to arrest the other accused persons involved in the incident,” said the police.

The police said the four Village Defence Force personnel — Ram Bahadur Karki, Ramesh Budhathoki, Manoj Khatiwoda, and Md. Taj Khan — were on duty when they were stopped and abducted from Imphal East at around 12.30 pm on Saturday. The personnel returned to the Kangpokpi police station at around 3.30 pm the same day, they added.

Because of the deep divide and boundaries drawn by the conflict, like the civilian population, Kuki-Zomi police personnel from the Kangpokpi district – where they are in the majority – no longer operate in the Meitei majority areas of the state, while Meitei police personnel also largely do not move in Kuki-Zomi majority areas.

According to a police officer from the Kangpokpi district, the four men were assigned to collect some items from the commando complex in the police headquarters in Imphal on Saturday morning. The officer emphasised the four personnel are not from either warring community — three of them are from the Nepali community and one is Muslim.

“Before they reached, personnel inside the commando complex warned them that some miscreants were waiting outside. When they sought further instructions, they were told to return to Kangpokpi without collecting the items. They moved away from there and started driving towards Kangpokpi, but were stopped in Koreingei in Imphal East, by what they said were around 30 armed men. They were blindfolded and taken to an unknown location where they were beaten. They were released later but their mobile phones and some cash were looted from them,” said the officer.

In February this year, two police personnel, including an additional superintendent of police, were abducted by the Arambai Tenggol in Imphal East after some of its members were picked up by police in connection with the thefts of vehicles. The police personnel were rescued later.

Following the incident, Manipur Police commandos in various valley districts laid down their arms in an act of protest and the police issued a statement accusing the group of engaging in “anti-social” and criminal activities while “garnering false support from the public in the garb of protecting the public.”