Manipur NPF questions Kuki CSOs’ stand on whereabouts of six missing Nagas

DIMAPUR — The Naga People’s Front (NPF), Manipur State Unit (MSU), on Tuesday questioned a statement by Kuki civil society organisations (CSOs) claiming no knowledge of six Naga men allegedly abducted earlier this month and demanded disclosure of their whereabouts and safe return.

In a press statement, the party was responding to a report published in a Manipur-based newspaper on May 26, in which Kuki CSOs reportedly denied knowledge regarding the whereabouts of the six men.

The NPF MSU maintained that the six men were among a larger group of civilians allegedly abducted on May 13 from Leilon Vaiphei village and argued that the denial was inconsistent with accounts from others who were allegedly taken in the same incident and later released.

According to the statement, several civilians, including women and a child, were allegedly abducted together. The party claimed that some of those taken were released on May 15, while six men remain unaccounted for.

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The NPF MSU claimed that women who were allegedly abducted alongside their husbands and later released were eyewitnesses to the incident and alleged that their accounts contradicted claims that there was no information regarding the missing men.

The party maintained that these individuals had firsthand knowledge of the events and questioned how there could be no information about the six men if others taken in the same incident had later returned.

The six men identified by the NPF MSU are Rev. Dr. Manu Thiumai, Dilip Thiumai, Phenrilungbou Chawang, Pherongwibou Thiumai, Kenpibou Chawang and Kliwangbou Abonmai.