Kangpokpi Police Personnel Brutally Assaulted by Armed Arambai Tenggol; CoTU Declares 24-Hour Total Shutdown

Barely two days after security forces rescued a CRPF jawan from the clutches of death at the hands of the Arambai Tenggol, who abducted the jawan at Shantipur, four police personnel stationed at Kangpokpi Police were abducted along National Highway 2 at Koirengei in Imphal East by armed Arambai Tenggol and brutally assaulted this afternoon.

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 Arambai Tenggol at Koirengei and frisked away after blindfolding them at around 12:40 pm.

Narrating their ordeal, one of the victims' personnel said that the Arambai Tenggol, 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 Arambai Tenggol were accusing us of supporting the Kukis and subjected us to various forms of torture, even threatening to ram our vehicle into us, while some put a small arm to our foreheads, threatening to shoot us.

"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 them 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 continued that regrettably, today, some of our police personnel from the Kangpokpi Police were manhandled and brutally assaulted at Koirengei, the home polling station of the incumbent Chief Minister while pointing that the Kangpokpi Police is still under the Home Department of the Manipur government, which is his department.

While recalling the attack on the CRPF a couple of months ago and the recent abduction of a CRPF jawan at Shantipur, he said that such incidents clearly indicated that even neutral forces are not safe from the grasp of his armed militia, the Arambai Tenggol.

He also recalled the incident at Wangkhei, where one of the Meitei police officers, an additional SP, was attacked by the Arambai forces, stating that no response or action has been taken by Biren Singh's Government to date.

He then said that, considering all these incidents, we now would like to ask the Central Government, for how long will they allow someone like N. Biren Singh, who seems delusional and out of control, to remain in power, with no authority over his state administration or his armed militia?

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.