IMPHAL, MAY 15 (AGENCIES): Thirty-one of the 38 people belonging to the Kuki and Naga communities, who were allegedly held hostage by armed groups in Manipur’s Kangpokpi and Senapati districts, have been released, police said on Friday.
The abductions took place after suspected militants shot dead three church leaders and injured four others in Kangpokpi district on Wednesday. In a separate incident on the same day, a civilian was killed and his wife injured in Noney district in what police suspect was a militant attack.
“Twelve Naga women from Konsakhul village, who were held captive by armed militants, were released at Makhan village,” a senior police officer said.
The officer added that four men and ten women from the Kuki community, who were allegedly held in captivity in Senapati district, were handed over to security forces late on Thursday night. “Two Salesian brothers of Don Bosco, including one from Nagaland, were also released by armed groups at separate locations,” the officer said.
On Thursday evening, three more persons, including an 18-year-old woman from the Kuki community, were handed over to police teams in Senapati district, another officer said.
“We were blindfolded and our hands tied up. We did not know the exact locations where we were taken. I could sense that we were moved to hilly areas. No one assaulted us,” a woman released in Kangpokpi district said.
Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam on Thursday said the government was actively engaging with civil society groups and political leaders to secure the release of those held captive.
The incidents triggered fresh tension in the hill districts, with members of the Kuki and Naga communities staging separate sit-in protests in Kangpokpi on Thursday against the alleged abductions.
Manipur has continued to witness sporadic violence and ethnic tensions in several districts despite heightened security deployment and ongoing peace efforts by the administration.
