Correspondent/PTI
IMPHAL, JUN 9: Fourteen Kuki men who had been held hostage for nearly a month in Manipur’s Senapati district were released on Tuesday, while efforts continue to secure the release of six Naga men who remain missing.
The 14 Kukis were allegedly detained by Naga groups following the abduction of 18 Liangmai Naga persons, including women and children, by Kuki groups after the May 13 ambush in which three Thadou church leaders were killed.
An official said the hostages were released safely at Senapati district headquarters in the presence of police and security personnel and were later handed over to the chief of Taphou Kuki village. The release was facilitated by United Naga Council (UNC) and other Senapati-based civil society organisations.
UNC president Ng Lorho said the decision was taken following appeals from the central and state governments, church bodies and tribal organisations.
“Nagas are cultured people. We respect human rights. We also took into consideration the assurances made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio that the missing six Nagas would be traced,” Lorho said. The whereabouts of the six Naga men, however, remain unknown.
Manipur chief minister Y. Khemchand Singh welcomed the release and called for renunciation of all forms of violence. He lauded the role played by Naga civil society organisations in securing the safe release of the hostages and described it as a reflection of “compassion, responsibility and concern for human life”.
Meanwhile, the chief ministers of Nagaland and Meghalaya have sought the safe release of the six Naga men still being held captive.