Manipur: Rescue ops for jawan's kin

Guwahati: Indian Army and Assam Rifles troops in Manipur have launched a search operation to rescue family members of the Army soldier who were kidnapped by militants on Tuesday morning, security sources said on Wednesday.

Saying that over the past three days, six people have been abducted in two different incidents in Manipur, which has been wracked by Kuki-Meitei ethnic violence since May, security sources said five members from the Kuki-Zomi community were abducted from the border of the Kuki-Zomi-dominated Kangpokpi and Meitei-dominated Imphal West district in Manipur on Tuesday morning.

The security sources said: “The Army and Assam Rifles have joined the operation. The Army is working on two fronts in this case. We coordinated with the civil administration to arrange a helicopter and airlifted the injured father of the soldier to Dimapur military hospital. Second, we have joined the operations and are working with other agencies to rescue the four abducted people, including three of our soldier’s relatives.”

On Tuesday morning, at around 8.30 am, five persons from the Kuki community , including the soldier’s relatives, who were on their way to Kangpokpi in a Mahindra Bolero car, were stopped by a mob of around 1,000 people and abducted in the same car at Kangchup Chingkong area.

While one 65-year-old man (the father of the Indian Army soldier) was rescued by the security forces, the militants managed to abduct two men and two women. The elderly man was beaten by the mob before the security forces could manage to rescue him from the mob.

The security agencies were yet to find the whereabouts of the four until Wednesday morning.

The injured elderly man, Manglun Haokip, who sustained critical blunt force injuries, was airlifted to Dimapur by Army and civil administration officials. Army officials said they would also help in bringing the soldier’s father to a Delhi hospital if the doctors so advise.

“His condition is still critical. Army personnel are monitoring his case. If need be and if suggested by the doctors, the Army will take necessary action. We will assist the Army soldier, who is not posted in Manipur,” the security sources said.

It is significant that on November 5, two Meitei residents who were riding a motorcycle and were on their way to meet a friend were abducted in Kangpokpi.

On Tuesday, the police told a court in Imphal that they suspect the two Meitei boys, who were abducted on November 5, may have been killed by cadres of the Kuki Revolutionary Army (U).