Accident – Death – Obituary News :

Two Kuki-Zo Family Members Found Dead After Alleged Abduction in Manipur’s Kangpokpi District

Officials have confirmed that two out of four Kuki-Zo family members, who were reportedly abducted by a Meitei mob from a security check post in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district, have been found dead. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning when five Kuki-Zo people, including two women, were forcibly taken away near Kangchup Chingkhong village checkpost, in the presence of the police and central security forces. The victims were traveling towards L Phaijang village to attend a wedding function. The alleged abduction sparked firing incidents and fresh protests in Manipur.

Manipur has been grappling with ethnic clashes between the Kuki and Meitei communities, which have claimed over 200 lives since the conflict erupted in early May. The violence has also forced nearly 60,000 individuals to flee their homes. The situation remains tense and volatile.

Inspector General of Police Themthing Ngasangva stated that on Tuesday evening, two bodies, one woman and a man, were discovered. However, two others from the group are still reported missing. The fifth member, a 65-year-old father of an Indian Army soldier, was rescued by security forces on Tuesday but sustained severe injuries. He was subsequently airlifted to a military base hospital in Guwahati on Wednesday.

A statement released by the Manipur Police on Tuesday night confirmed that the group of Kuki-Zos was confronted by an enraged mob. The police in Imphal West district found the body of the missing Kuki-Zo woman on Tuesday in Atom Khuman village, approximately 8 kilometers from Kangchup Chingkhong. The woman had suffered a bullet injury to her head. The body has been sent to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal mortuary for postmortem. A murder case has been registered in connection with the incident.

In a separate incident, the body of a Kuki man was found at the Takhok Mapal Makha Puruksoubi Loukon Palli area in Imphal East on Tuesday evening. The man had three bullet injuries on his chest and one on his head. Inspector Poujeanlung Panmei, the officer in charge of the Irilbung Police Station, confirmed that a case has been registered against unknown individuals under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (murder) and provisions of the Arms Act.

Prior to this incident, Manipur was already on edge as two Meitei teenage boys went missing on Sunday. The boys, identified as 16-year-old Maibam Avinash and 19-year-old Ningthoujam Anthony, disappeared after visiting the Sekmai area in Imphal West district to attend a function. Their mobile phones were later found wrapped in a black plastic bag near an oil pump in Senapati district, a Naga-dominated area. The investigation into their disappearance is ongoing.

The Manipur Police announced on Tuesday that they have arrested two Kuki individuals allegedly associated with the Kuki Revolutionary Army (Unification) militant group in connection with the case of the missing Meitei teenagers.

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