Fresh tension as Kuki groups enforce blockade in NH-202

IMPHAL, JUL 27: Fresh tension erupted in Manipur’s Ukhrul district on Monday after members of the Kuki community allegedly intercepted vehicles on National Highway-202 (Imphal-Ukhrul), conducted checks and confiscated goods while enforcing an indefinite counter-economic blockade.
According to reports, the blockade was called by the Working Committee of Kuki Civil Society Organisations (WCKCSOs), Ukhrul, and came into effect from midnight of July 26.
Residents of Shangkai (Kuki) village, through which the highway passes, allegedly stopped vehicles travelling under security escort near Litan Police Station. Goods and essential commodities carried by commuters were reportedly offloaded despite the presence of security personnel.
The blockade reportedly began around 10 a.m. with villagers stopping passenger buses, private vehicles and other commercial transport. After checking the vehicles, they allegedly confiscated goods and essential items before allowing commuters to continue their journey without the seized belongings. Videos circulating on social media purportedly show women collecting goods from vehicles in the presence of local police and security personnel.
A reliable source alleged that blockade enforcers also stopped a postal department vehicle and burned 36 of the 53 bags of postal articles after confiscating them.
Meanwhile, the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) Working Committee condemned the incidents, alleging that more than 40 commercial and private vehicles were forcibly stopped, looted and vandalised at Shangkai Kuki village and Mahadev Hill despite security deployment. In a strongly worded statement, the TNL alleged that vehicles travelling under security escort were intercepted by Kuki villagers acting in collusion with militants operating under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement.
The organisation further alleged that commuters were stripped of cash, important documents, clothing and essential groceries. It claimed that some confiscated items were set on fire along the roadside while others were taken away.
Describing the incidents as a “brazen act of highway robbery committed in broad daylight,” the TNL expressed concern that the alleged attacks occurred in the presence of security personnel deployed as escort parties and Road Opening Party (ROP) units.