Manipur Abductions: Policeman Interrogated, NIA Yet to Make Arrests
A police personnel from Kangpokpi district in Manipur has been interrogated in connection with the abduction and killing of six Naga men, whose mutilated bodies were recovered on June 10, 2026, a senior government official confirmed.
The police official was questioned by the Kangpokpi police amid indications that he may have been involved in the abduction of the six men, including two pastors, on May 13 from Leilon Vaiphei village. The abductions took place on the same day that three Thadou-Kuki church leaders were killed in the vicinity.
“The investigation is still ongoing; the police personnel’s exact role in the crime is yet to be ascertained. The Naga women who were taken hostage and later released had mentioned the policeman in their statements to the police,” the official said.
Following public outrage over the killings, the State government transferred the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has not yet made any arrests.
The six men and their family members were taken hostage. Twelve people, including women and children, were later released. At least 44 civilians were reportedly taken hostage by Kuki and Naga groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts, respectively, on May 13. While several hostages were released earlier, 14 members of the Kuki community who remained in captivity were freed on June 9. The bodies of the six missing Naga men were recovered by security forces on June 10.
On July 4, 2026, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the security situation in Manipur. He directed security agencies and the NIA to crack down on suspects and armed militants from Naga, Kuki, and Meitei groups. The Minister expressed concern over the slow pace of investigations in recent and past cases of violence, including clashes between Naga and Kuki communities, and called for the arrest of all suspects. He also stressed the need to dismantle the narcotics trade in the region.
The Narcotics Control Bureau, in its 2025 annual report, noted that following the Taliban-imposed ban on drugs in Afghanistan in 2022, Myanmar has become an alternative source of global opium supply, with consequences visible along India’s eastern borders through the Manipur corridor.
Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh joined virtually from Imphal, while the meeting in Delhi was attended by Manipur’s Security Advisor Kuldiep, State Director General of Police Mukesh Singh, and Director General of Military Operations Lieutenant General Abhijit S. Pendharkar, among others.
The ethnic violence, which first erupted between Kuki and Meitei communities on May 3, 2023, has now expanded to include clashes between Kuki and Naga communities, claiming 300 lives so far. At least 40 people have been killed since February 4, 2026, after President’s Rule was revoked and an elected government was restored.
Kangpokpi’s location—surrounded by the Naga-dominated Senapati district in the north and Meitei-dominated valley districts in the south—has severely affected transportation of essential items on National Highway 2. Naga village volunteers have imposed a blockade on goods entering from Nagaland and Assam. Security agencies are ensuring supply of essentials to Kangpokpi. Recently, six people from the Naga community were arrested for blocking vehicles towards the Kuki-dominated district, the official said.
