A constable of the Manipur police has been suspended after allegations that he participated in the killing of six Naga hostages in Kangpokpi district.
Constable Thangginlian Vaiphei, attached to the Kangpokpi police, was suspended by SP Ksh. Ravikumar Singh following a letter from the Kangpokpi SP and a communication from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Imphal branch. The suspension order, issued on September 8, states that a departmental inquiry is being considered. During the suspension, Vaiphei will remain attached to the reserve lines and cannot leave the headquarters without permission.
Vaiphei was named by survivors in connection with the May 13 abduction at Leilon Vaiphei village, where 18 Liangmai Naga men, women and children were taken hostage by Kuki armed groups. Women and children were released two days later, and 14 Kuki men were freed. Six Naga men were found murdered on June 10. Their bodies remain at the JNIMS morgue in Imphal, and families, backed by Naga civil bodies, have refused to accept them until justice is delivered.
The NIA is investigating the case, with Naga organisations alleging the involvement of certain Leilon Vaiphei residents, including the village chief and the suspended constable. Meanwhile, the United Naga Council has intensified its economic blockade on national highways, and the Working Committee of the Joint Tribes Council Manipur has called for a boycott of Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh’s proposed visit to Luangkao village on September 12. The committee noted that 119 days had passed since the abduction and killing of the six men, yet no arrests have been made and the investigation remains incomplete. It urged that justice be delivered before any official programme be undertaken in Naga areas and appealed to Naga people, civil society organisations and leaders to abstain from the September 12 programme and refrain from engaging with government officials without collective consultation.
