IMPHAL: Security forces launched operations in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district to rescue those still being held hostage by militant groups, police said on Monday.
A senior officer said that area control exercises and search operations were being carried out in different parts of the hill area to rescue “all the missing persons and arrest those responsible for taking the hostages.”
31 of about 38 people belonging to the Kuki and Naga communities who were taken hostage by armed groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts on 14 and 15 May have been released.
These people were taken to undisclosed locations after suspected gunmen shot three church leaders and wounded four others in Kangbukpi on May 13, while a civilian was shot dead and his wife injured in Noni district.
The police statement said: “In continuation of rescue operations for missing persons, security forces carried out combing and searching operations in the hill ranges to the northwest of the villages of Lilon Faife and Kharam Faife in the Kangbukpi district.”
Among those handed over to the security forces were twelve Naga women from Konsakul village in Kangbukpi and four men and ten women from the Kuki community in Senapati district.
Earlier, the police said that as a result of “coordinated efforts” by the administration, security forces, political leaders and civil society organizations, “the majority of detained civilians, belonging to different sects, were released safely.”
Meanwhile, the United Naga Council, the apex body of Naga tribes in the state, held an inter-district blockade on National Highway 2 and 37 from Sunday night, demanding the release of six Naga men suspected of being held captive by militants.
Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of Kuki tribes in the state, also claimed that 14 members of the community are still missing and being held hostage by various groups in Senapati district.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
