Manipur: KSO alleges vehicle carrying essential commodities torched during Naga blockade

The Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), Sadar Hills, has alleged that a vehicle carrying essential commodities to Kangpokpi was intercepted and later set ablaze during the ongoing economic blockade by Naga groups.

According to the KSO, the vehicle had travelled to Taphou Kuki to collect essential commodities amid the prolonged blockade affecting Kuki-Zo areas. The organisation alleged that the vehicle was intercepted at Ningthoupham Mayangkhang by persons identified as volunteers of the Naga People’s Organisation (NPO).

The KSO claimed that the occupants were allegedly dragged out of the vehicle, assaulted and their commodities taken away. It further alleged that the occupants were later assured that they could return home and that the vehicle and their Naga associate would be released the following day.

However, the organisation alleged that the assurance was not honoured and that the vehicle was subsequently burnt down.

One of the occupants, Haopu Chongloi of Kangpokpi, broadly corroborated the sequence of events but said he and his companions could not establish whether the people who intercepted them were actually NPO volunteers or members of any particular organisation.

Haopu said they had travelled to Taphou Kuki to obtain basic necessities because of the prolonged blockade. He said their Naga friend, Pukhroni from Daili village, had accompanied them before they were allegedly stopped while returning towards Kangpokpi.

According to Haopu, they were taken to an office at Senapati, where negotiations were held over the release of their vehicle. He said he and his brother were eventually allowed to leave after being told that the vehicle and their Naga friend would be released the next day.

Haopu said they later learned through social media that the vehicle had allegedly been burnt.

The KSO condemned the incident and demanded that those responsible be identified and prosecuted. It also called upon the NPO to take organisational and moral responsibility if its volunteers were found to be involved and sought compensation for the alleged loss of the vehicle and commodities.

The organisation further appealed to the state government and law-enforcement agencies to intervene and ensure justice, warning that incidents of this nature could further strain relations between the Kuki-Zo and Naga communities.

The allegations could not be independently verified.