Manipur police rescue two Kukis in Meitei-dominated area

Imphal: Manipur Police, in coordination with central security forces, rescued two Kukis and safely handed them over to their families during an operation conducted at Yaingangpokpi Bazar, an area dominated by Meiteis, on Saturday, officials reported on Sunday.

Following complaints that two Kuki individuals, Lalminlun (45), a native of H. Lhangjol village, and Sesem (45) of Sangran village in Kangpokpi district, had gone missing in Meitei-dominated areas, law enforcement agencies remained on alert.

Police then launched a swift night-time operation to find them.

The two men were found at Yaingangpokpi Bazar in Imphal East district.

Police spotted them in an auto-rickshaw and later handed them over to their families safely.

The incident came after the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), a prominent Kuki-Zo body based in Kangpokpi district, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the authorities on Saturday, following the reported abduction and alleged torture of a Kuki civilian.

In a statement, CoTU alleged that Kamginlal Chongloi, a resident of L. Phaikot village in Leimakhong, Kangpokpi district and an employee of the Leimakhong Army Headquarters, was intercepted at Makhan Liangmei Nagas village while returning from Sapormeina.

He was reportedly taken to Khurkhul, where he was tortured and brutally beaten by valley-based armed militants.

CoTU demanded that the authorities take immediate action and arrest those responsible.

Since the ethnic violence that began on May 3, 2023, the Kuki-Zo community has restricted the free movement of Meiteis in Kuki-inhabited areas, which they refer to as a buffer zone.