4 Manipur Police personnel abducted & assaulted, 2 accused held

Imphal: Manipur Police on Sunday arrested two persons belonging to radical Meitei outfit ‘Arambai Tenggol’ for kidnapping and assaulting four police personnel posted at tribal-dominated Kangpokpi Police station, officials said.

Police said that the four policemen were abducted along National Highway-2 at Koirengei in Imphal East district on Saturday night while they were en route from Imphal to Kangpokpi.

A police official in Imphal said that Taibanganba Sanoujam, 25, and Moirangthem Bobo, 40, were arrested on Sunday and search operations are continuing to rescue the abducted policemen and to arrest the other accused involved in the incident.

The kidnapped police personnel were identified as Ram Bahadur Karki, Ramesh Budhathoki, Manoj Khatiwoda, and Md Taj Khan.

The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), a leading tribal organisation, observed a 24-hour total shutdown in the entire Kangpokpi district on Sunday to express their resentment over the abduction and brutal assault of the four police personnel. The total shutdown continued till midnight Sunday.

CoTU Media Cell Coordinator Ng Lun Kipgen said that police personnel from the Kangpokpi Police were brutally assaulted at Koirengei.

On May 9, Manipur Police with the support of local people, rescued CRPF Assistant Sub-Inspector, Lensat Sitlhou, hours after he was abducted from Imphal West district by armed men. The ASI was also reportedly assaulted by his abductors.