IMPHAL: Two youths abducted by suspected Kuki militants on September 27 were safely released early this morning. Thokchom Thoithoiba and Oinam Thoithoi were handed over to the Superintendent of Police in Kangpokpi at around 5 this morning, almost a week after they had gone missing.
According to local sources, negotiations between the local leaders and the authorities probably helped them come back safely, but the conditions of release are still unknown. The two youths had been the subject of extensive search efforts, and tensions regarding their well-being characterized the entire region.
On October 2, Manipur MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam issued a press release under urgent notice to Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure the safe release of the two youths, their abduction being part of a worrying increase in communal violence that had affected the state since May 2023.
The two young men were abducted on September 27 while on their way from Thoubal district to New Keithelmanbi for a test of SSC GD recruitment.
Three youth have been reportedly abducted by suspected armed members of the Kuki community. While one of them is rescued by Assam Rifles, Oinam Thoithoi Singh and Thokchom Thoithoiba Meitei had to remain hostages until their release today.
MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam submitted a letter to the Home Minister demanding answers over unclear circumstances in which Assam Rifles staged a rescue operation. He sought answers over the rescue of one of the three youths traveling in the same vehicle while the remaining two were compelled to remain in the house of the kidnappers.
Akoijam revealed that the kidnappers had reportedly demanded the release of Mark T Haokip, who is undergoing judicial custody in an NIA court case and also the transfer of Kuki prisoners from Imphal jails. He condemned those demands as acts of terrorism.
The MP further argued that taking hostages and using demands as a means of trading hostages is a worldwide global issue, and continued to insist the nation should not yield into such terror.
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