Nine Meiteis injured in Manipur firing after alleged abduction of four Kuki-Zos

Four Kuki-Zo people, including two women, are missing after they were allegedly abducted on Tuesday morning by a Meitei mob. The fifth member of the group that was travelling together, a 65-year-old man, was rescued by security forces and has been seriously injured. The incident led to a heavy exchange of fire on the border of Kangpokpi district, where the Kuki-Zos are in a majority, and the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley.

At least nine people, including two police personnel and seven civilians, were injured in the firing, said Manipur police. All nine were from the Meitei community, said Ksh. Shivakanta Singh, superintendent of police, Imphal West.

The alleged abduction and firing follows reports of two Meitei teenagers going missing on Sunday morning. The Manipur Police on Monday said that they have detained three persons from the hill district of Kangpokpi related to the teenagers’ disappearance.

On Tuesday, an Army official told Scroll that the group of five Kuki-Zos were accosted near Kangchup Chingkhong around 8 am.

“They are relatives of a serving Indian Army soldier deployed outside the state,” the official said. “They were travelling in a Bolero. At a check post in Kangchup Chingkhong, manned by central forces and Manipur Police, they were overwhelmed by the local population.”

The official added: “One...

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