Thirty-one of the 38 people belonging to the Kuki and Naga communities, who were held hostage by armed groups in Manipur’s Kangpokpi and Senapati districts, were released on Friday. 

These people were taken to unknown areas after suspected militants shot dead three church leaders and injured four others in Kangpokpi on Wednesday, while a civilian was gunned down and his wife was wounded in Noney district.