Imphal: Barely two days after security forces rescued a CRPF jawan from miscreants, four police personnel stationed at Kangpokpi Police were abducted along National Highway 2 at Koirengei in Imphal East in Manipur by armed miscreants and brutally assaulted.
The four police personnel do not belong to either of the two warring communities; three of them are from the Nepalese community, and one is from the Muslim community.
They were identified as Ram Bahadur Karki (34), Ramesh Budhathoki (30), Manoj Khatiwoda (34), and Md. Taj Khan (29). They were stationed at Kangpokpi Police Station.
The incident occurred when the four police personnel, who were on their way back to Kangpokpi Police Station from Imphal, were overtaken by the armed men at Koirengei and frisked away after blindfolding them at around 12:40 pm.
Narrating their ordeal, one of the victims’ personnel said that miscreants, numbering more than 30 and armed with sophisticated weapons, overtook our vehicle, stopped us, pulled us out immediately, blindfolded us, and later took us to an unknown camp-like location, where they made us bend and brutally thrashed us black and blue.
He continued that the armed men accused the policemen of supporting the Kukis and subjected them to various forms of torture.
“I was so scared that they would kill us and we would not be able to return back alive”, he added.
After enduring brutal assault and torture, victims were reportedly blindfolded and dropped off at Khonghampat, where they were released with a stern warning not to reveal the atrocities they had suffered.
The brutally assaulted police personnel were brought to District Hospital Kangpokpi who were later referred to Kangpokpi Christian Hospital for further treatment.
Meanwhile, the Committee on Tribal Unity, or CoTU, in Sadar Hills declared a 24-hour total shutdown in the entire Sadar Hills Kangpokpi District in connection with the incident to demonstrate their resentment over the abduction and brutal assault of the four Kangpokpi police personnel.
The total shutdown will begin from 12 midnight of May 11 till 12 midnight of May 12.
CoTU’s Media Cell Coordinator, Ng. Lun Kipgen, said that the incumbent Chief Minister, N. Biren Singh, has lost control of his militia, the Arambai Tenggol and expressed curiosity about whether the Chief Minister still maintains authority over his government or if the Arambai Tenggol now holds the power.
He also urged the Central Government to recognize that the state of Manipur is lawless and appealed to the Centre Government to take preemptive action by re-imposing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in all 19 valley districts, which were previously exempted, before considering any political solution for the Kuki-Zo community as a separate administration.
The Kangpokpi Town Committee, and other local bodies of Kangpokpi also condemned the incident in the strongest and declared endorsement of CoTU’s total shutdown.
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