The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two more accused on Saturday in connection with the kidnapping and murder of six Nagas in Manipur. Police said it has led to four arrests so far.
Manipur Police confirmed
The duo was arrested by a joint team of NIA, Manipur Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) during the follow-up investigation, she said, adding that “more efforts are being made to arrest other individuals linked to the case.”
Earlier, a joint team of NIA with the help of Manipur Police and CRPF arrested a couple on July 10, Watam Pradeep (42) and Watam Ongbe Aingbe alias Mangaij (44) residing in Lilon Phifei village, Kangpokpi district.
There is speculation that a police personnel in Kangpokpi district has also been questioned for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and killing of six Naga civilians. However, the exact role of this police officer has not yet been confirmed.
Lilon Vaife is a Kuki-dominated village in Kangpokpi district of Manipur, where 20 Nagas were kidnapped while traveling and held hostage after the double ambush on May 13 in Kangpokpi and Noni districts, which claimed the lives of four people including three church leaders and one Naga man.
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On the same evening, Naga groups also kidnapped 28 people from Kuki and held them hostage.
However, following repeated appeals from several groups and the Manipur government, 14 from each side were released on May 15. Fourteen Kukis and six Nagas remained hostage to either group.
On 9 June, the Naga groups released 14 Kukis; However, six survivors were found the next day as mutilated bodies near Kharam Faife (a village close to Lilon Faife).
On 25 June, Hinlinthang Thanglit, chief of the Kuki Zu Council (KZC), the supreme body of the Kuki Zu, approved the killing of six Nagas. “Yes, I agree that Kuki-Zu made a grave mistake by killing six Kacha Nagas civilians, which was done out of passion. I truly regret it,” Thanglit said during a press conference.
On June 26, KZC issued a clarifying statement signed by its spokesman Ginza Walzung, saying: “The President’s expression of regret was made in the spirit of humanity, compassion and moral responsibility. His statements were never intended to hold collective guilt on the Kuki-Zu people or to suggest that the Kuki-Zu community is responsible for the killings.”
Ethnic clashes in Manipur first began between the Meitei and Kuki communities before encompassing almost all communities. The state’s Meite and Kuki Zou communities have isolated each other from areas they dominate since ethnic clashes began in May 2023 and left at least 260 people dead and 60,000 displaced.
The Metis people, most of whom are Hindu, live largely in the Imphal Valley. The Kuki family, most of whom are Christians, reside in the hills. The state government confirmed that there are no buffer zones dividing communities in the state, but it has identified some sensitive areas.
In February, a new government was formed, almost a year after the “presidential law” was imposed. It includes representatives of the three main communities as part of an attempt to maintain ethnic balance.
