Correspondent
IMPHAL, JUL 28 (NPN): Postal service employees in Manipur staged a protest at the Imphal head post office Tuesday, denouncing the burning of postal articles allegedly by armed Kuki individuals enforcing a counter economic blockade along NH‑202 (Imphal–Ukhrul road).
On Monday, four to five armed men reportedly hijacked a mail van at Shangkai village and burnt 36 out of 53 postal bags. The consignments included passports, ATM cards, educational certificates, medicines and other vital parcels.
Protesters described the incident as a “heinous act” and alleged lapses on the part of security forces. They demanded immediate arrest of the culprits and foolproof security for mail vans. A banner at the protest read: “Strongly condemn the heinous act of burning post articles and property at Shangkai Kuki village near Litan police station, Ukhrul district by miscreants.”
Meanwhile, employees at Ukhrul post office suspended services indefinitely in protest. Police at Litan registered an FIR based on a complaint by driver Nazir Hussain, who stated he was forced at gunpoint to drive the van to Shangkai ground where the bags were burnt. He alleged the armed men threatened him by pressing a gun to his thigh, preventing him from speaking to security personnel. Elderly villagers later intervened to stop the vehicle from being set ablaze.
The FIR was filed under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including obstruction of public servants, unlawful assembly, mischief, criminal intimidation, and under the Arms Act for unauthorized possession of prohibited weapons. Reports said members of the Working Committee of Kuki Civil Society Organisations (WCKCSOs), Ukhrul continued the blockade Tuesday, halting movement along NH‑202 and camping overnight at Shangkai to prevent passage of goods. The blockade came into effect from midnight of July 26.