Couple arrested in connection with killing of six abducted Naga civilians in Manipur

Imphal, July 10 (IANS) A joint team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Manipur Police on Friday arrested a couple from Manipur’s Kangpokpi district for their alleged involvement in the abduction and killing of six Naga civilians, police said.

A senior police official said that acting on credible intelligence inputs, the joint team launched a well-coordinated operation in Leilon Vaiphei village in Kangpokpi district during the early hours of Friday to apprehend the accused allegedly involved in the killing of the six members of the Naga community on May 13.

The official said the operation was carried out successfully, leading to the arrest of the two accused. The arrested persons were identified as Pradip and his wife, Ayingbi, both residents of Leilon Vaiphei village.

Necessary search and seizure procedures were carried out at their residence and nearby areas, while further legal formalities are underway, the official added.

The bodies of the six Naga civilians were recovered on June 11 from a forested area in Kangpokpi district, nearly a month after they were allegedly abducted on May 13. The gruesome killings triggered widespread protests, counter-economic blockades and renewed tensions between the Naga and Kuki-Zo communities across parts of Manipur.

Meanwhile, acknowledging and expressing remorse over the killings, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of the Kuki-Zo communities, recently apologised for the incident and called for a fair, transparent and impartial investigation into all acts of violence linked to the continuing ethnic unrest in the state.

Addressing the media at Churachandpur district headquarters along with three other KZC leaders, Chairman Henlianthang Thanglet admitted that members of the Kuki-Zo community had committed a “grave mistake” by killing the six Naga civilians, stating that the act was carried out “out of emotion”.

However, several Naga organisations, including the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM), rejected the apology, describing it as “insincere” and demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of all those responsible for the killings.

At least 50 people from the Kuki and Naga communities were taken hostage by different armed groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts following the violent incidents of May 13, during which three church leaders were killed and four others injured in Kangpokpi district.

Following sustained efforts by the authorities, community leaders and various civil society organisations, around 30 individuals from both communities were released on May 14 and May 15.

On June 10, the remaining 14 Kuki villagers were released and handed over to the police at a police station in Senapati district by the United Naga Council (UNC) and the Naga People’s Organisation (NPO).

The following day, June 11, the bodies of the six Naga hostages were recovered from a forested area near Kharam Vaiphei village, a predominantly Kuki-Zo tribal settlement under the Saitu-Gamphazol Sub-Division of Kangpokpi district.

Earlier, Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh had announced that the cases relating to the abduction and killing of the six Naga villagers, along with the murder of the three church leaders in Kangpokpi district on May 13, had been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for a comprehensive investigation.

The latest arrests are expected to provide a significant breakthrough in the investigation into one of the most sensitive incidents linked to the recent Naga-Kuki tensions in the hill districts of Manipur.

–IANS

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