Two Kuki men who had been missing since Wednesday were found dead in a forested area of Thawai Kuki village in Manipur’s Kamjong district on Thursday, a senior police officer told Scroll.
The two were identified as 42-year-old Thengin Baite from Thawai Kuki village in the district and 35-year-old Thangboimang Khongsai from Shangkai village in neighbouring Ukhrul district.
The two men had allegedly been abducted by village volunteers belonging to the Tangkhul Naga community on Wednesday, the Kuki-based Shangkai Village Authority claimed in a statement.
The term “village volunteers” has been used for armed civilians guarding villages since the ethnic clashes broke out between the Kuki-Zo-Hmars and Meiteis communities in May 2023.
The Shangkai Village Authority alleged that “Tangkhul volunteers” fired at the villagers who were working in the fields. The two persons, who had gone to repair a water pipeline, had been fired upon and had gone missing, it alleged.
In its statement on Wednesday, the village authority said that “out of deep concern for the safety of the detained and missing villagers, members of the public have stopped vehicles plying along the Ukhrul road”.
Amid the tensions, several Tangkhul Naga persons travelling along the Ukhrul-Imphal route were abducted allegedly by Kuki persons on Wednesday, The Hindu reported.
The Tangkhul Naga Long, the apex body of the community, alleged that “more than 20 Naga civilian passengers” had been abducted and “taken hostage” at Shangkai on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Khemchand Yumnam had also expressed concern about “civilians being held captive along the Ukhrul-Imphal road”.
Yumnam had said on Wednesday that the government was monitoring the situation and that action would be taken against those involved in the incident.
The detained Tangkhul civilians were released on Thursday morning, officials said.
Hours later, the bodies of the two missing Kuki men were discovered in a forested area.
In February, tensions between the Kuki and Tangkhul Naga communities escalated in Ukhrul district after a Tangkhul Naga man was allegedly assaulted at Litan village. An attempt to resolve the matter through customary practices failed after a scheduled meeting between the complainant’s family and the chief of Litan Sareikhong village did not take place.
The incident triggered ethnic clashes between the two communities at Litan Sareikhong, during which more than 30 houses were burnt.
The authorities had at the time imposed a curfew and suspended internet services in the area.
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