The peripheral areas of Manipur’s Kangpokpi and Imphal West districts experienced volatility on Tuesday. Five members of the Kuki-Zomi community were abducted, and at least nine people, including two police personnel, from the Meitei community were injured in an exchange of gunfire later in the day.
The first exchange of fire occurred early in the morning near Maphou, on the border of Imphal East and Kangpokpi district.
According to a security official, five people from the Kuki-Zomi community, four of whom are relatives of an Army soldier, were traveling in a vehicle when they were abducted by unknown individuals around 8:45 am near 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 others remained unknown as of Tuesday evening. The rescued person, identified as 65-year-old Manglun Haokip from Bolkot village, sustained serious injuries and 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 called for a search operation by central security forces to rescue them, expressing fears that they may have been killed or tortured.
The group also stated that the firing later in the 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 the 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 occurred in villages near Kakngchup Chinkhong at around 11 am and in villages near Singda Kadangband area, where at least seven people were injured.
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