10 July,2026 02:17 PM IST | Imphal | mid-day online correspondent
Officials said Friday`s arrests are expected to provide a significant breakthrough in the investigation into one of the most sensitive incidents linked to the recent Naga-Kuki tensions in Manipur`s hill districts. Representational pic
A joint team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Manipur Police on Friday arrested a couple from Kangpokpi district for their alleged involvement in the abduction and killing of six Naga civilians, police said.
According to a senior police official, the arrests were made during a coordinated operation conducted in the early hours of Friday at Leilon Vaiphei village in Kangpokpi district based on specific intelligence inputs, news agency IANS reported.
The accused have been identified as Pradip and his wife Ayingbi, both residents of Leilon Vaiphei village.
Police said search and seizure operations were carried out at their residence and nearby areas following the arrests, while further legal formalities are underway.
The six Naga civilians had allegedly been abducted on May 13, and their bodies were recovered nearly a month later, on June 11, from a forested area in Kangpokpi district. The killings sparked widespread protests, counter-economic blockades, and heightened tensions between the Naga and Kuki-Zo communities in parts of Manipur.
Earlier, Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh had announced that the cases related to the abduction and killing of the six Naga civilians, along with the murder of three church leaders in Kangpokpi district on May 13, had been handed over to the NIA for a comprehensive investigation.
Meanwhile, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of the Kuki-Zo communities, recently apologised for the killings and called for a fair, transparent and impartial probe into all incidents linked to the ongoing ethnic violence in the state.
Addressing the media in Churachandpur, KZC Chairman Henlianthang Thanglet acknowledged that members of the Kuki-Zo community had committed a "grave mistake" by killing the six Naga civilians, claiming the act was carried out "out of emotion".
However, several Naga organisations, including the All Naga Students' Association, Manipur (ANSAM), rejected the apology, calling it "insincere" and demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of all those responsible.
The violence on May 13 also saw at least 50 people from the Kuki and Naga communities taken hostage by different armed groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts. Three church leaders were killed and four others injured during the clashes in Kangpokpi.
Following efforts by authorities, community leaders and civil society organisations, around 30 hostages were released on May 14 and 15. The remaining 14 Kuki villagers were freed on June 10 and handed over to police by the United Naga Council (UNC) and the Naga People's Organisation (NPO).
The following day, authorities recovered the bodies of the six Naga hostages from a forested area near Kharam Vaiphei village in Kangpokpi district.
Officials said Friday's arrests are expected to provide a significant breakthrough in the investigation into one of the most sensitive incidents linked to the recent Naga-Kuki tensions in Manipur's hill districts.
(With IANS inputs)
