Correspondent
IMPHAL, SEP 9 (NPN): A Manipur police constable accused of involvement in the killing of six Naga hostages in Kangpokpi district has been suspended from service.
Constable Thangginlian Vaiphei, presently attached to Kangpokpi district police, was placed under suspension by Bishnupur SP Ksh. Ravikumar Singh following a letter from the Kangpokpi SP and a communication from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Imphal branch.
The suspension order, issued on September 8, stated that a departmental inquiry was being contemplated against the constable. During the suspension period, he will remain attached to Kangpokpi police reserve lines and will not be allowed to leave headquarters without prior permission..
Vaiphei was among those named by survivors in connection with the May 13 abduction at Leilon Vaiphei village, where 18 Liangmai Naga men, women and children were taken hostage by Kuki armed groups. The women and children were released two days later, while 14 Kuki men were subsequently freed. Six Naga men were found murdered on June 10.
Their bodies remain at the JNIMS morgue in Imphal, as the families, backed by Naga civil bodies, have refused to accept them until justice is delivered.
The NIA is investigating the case, with Naga organisations alleging the involvement of certain Leilon Vaiphei residents, including the village chief and the suspended constable.
Meanwhile, United Naga Council (UNC) has intensified its ongoing economic blockade on national highways, while the Working Committee of the Joint Tribes Council Manipur (WC-JTCM) has called for a boycott of chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh’s proposed visit to Luangkao village in Noney district on September 12.
In a statement, WC-JTCM said 119 days had passed since the abduction and killing of the six Liangmai Naga men, yet no arrests had been made and the investigation had not been concluded.
While expressing respect for Rani Gaidinliu, the committee insisted that justice should be delivered before any official programme was undertaken in Naga areas. It appealed to Naga people, civil society organisations and leaders to abstain from the September 12 programme and refrain from engaging with government officials without collective consultation.