Kuki militants in Manipur have demanded the government free a man from their community held over secessionism charges, in exchange for two Meitei youngsters they currently hold hostage, officials in the security establishment and the state government said on Sunday in what threatens to escalate into a fresh crisis for a region besieged by ethnic strife.
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A senior officer in the multi-agency security establishment deployed to the state told HT that the militants have made several demands, with two being crucial. “The demands include the release of Mark T Haokip, currently in the custody of the NIA, and the shifting of 15 Kuki prisoners from Imphal’s Sajiwa jail to the Churachandpur jail,” said the officer, who asked not to be named.
Chief minister Biren Singh held meetings with officials and political parties as pressure to resolve the hostage crisis grew. A video released on social media Sunday showed the two captive men urging the CM to accept the demands. The CM’s office has not confirmed the nature of the specific demands.
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According to the official cited above, negotiations between the Biren Singh administration and Kuki groups are being routed through central security forces — the Assam Rifles and the Central Reserve Police Force — and Kuki civil society organizations, who are in contact with the militants.
“It’s unclear where the two Meitei men are being held. The CSOs deny knowledge of the location but say they can send human couriers to and from where the militants are placing their demands,” the official said.
Lelena, a civil society group member in touch with security forces, disputed the characterisation of those holding the Meiteis as militants, calling them village volunteers instead. “We’re only communicating with the security forces so that the demands of our village defense volunteers are met and the two men are released. On Friday, when the incident happened, the volunteers released one Meitei man, but kept the others.”
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The abduction of the two men is the latest in a series of events threatening to push Manipur back into ethnic violence. The Kuki-Zo tribes dominating the hills and the Meiteis, who are a majority in the valley, have divided the state into two demographic zones, with village defense volunteers on both sides serving as the frontline, separated by a buffer zone.
The communities have mostly remained in their strongholds after engaging in deadly clashes for weeks following May 3, 2023, when ethnic tensions erupted. As on Friday, over 230 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced.
A video surfaced on social media late on Saturday featuring the two missing persons. They appealed, “As Meiteis, if ‘Pabung’ (addressing the chief minister as ‘father’ in Manipuri) Biren considers us your sons, please save our lives and fulfil the demands of our brothers. We are pleading with you as true Meiteis.”
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CM Singh posted on X: “We condemn such heinous acts, and our government is working to secure the safe release of the victims.”
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According to people familiar with the matter, the meeting called by Biren Singh discussed the demands made by Kuki militants, including the exchange of Haokip for the two captives.
Haokip was arrested by Manipur Police in New Delhi on May 22, 2022. He was booked under multiple sections of the IPC and the UAPA for conspiracy for secession from India and attempting to wage war against the central government through an outfit called the Government of the People’s Democratic Republic of Kukiland.
A second officer, familiar with the matter, provided more details about the incident. Three Meitei youths from a remote village in Manipur’s Thoubal district were traveling by motorcycle on Friday morning. One of them, Ningombam Johnson Singh, was due to take his SSC GD recruitment examination at the 9 Assam Rifles camp in New Keithelmanbi.
“He asked his two friends, Oinam Thoithoi and Thokchom Thoithoiba, to accompany him,” the officer said. “They set off on a motorcycle but mistakenly set their destination as Keithelmanbi instead of New Keithelmanbi. Keithelmanbi is in Kangpokpi, a Kuki-dominated area. The three were unaware of this.”
Surprisingly, they were not stopped when crossing Kanglatombi, a buffer zone in Kangpokpi district. About 2 kilometers past Kanglatombi, they were halted by Kuki civilians.
At entry points to hill districts like Kangpokpi and Churachandpur, civilians — predominantly women — stop all incoming vehicles to check people’s identities.
“The three men should have been stopped and directed back to Meitei areas on Friday, but no one intervened,” a third official said.
As of late Sunday night, security forces had yet to conduct any rescue operation for the two men. Senior CRPF and Assam Rifles officers are in communication with the CM’s office.
