Manipur: N Biren Singh said the two men were kidnapped by "Kuki militants"
The family of a rights 'activist' and terror accused in Manipur has refuted reports that claimed two men from the Meitei community, who were kidnapped last week, were being held hostage to swap with their jailed son.
The terror accused, Mark Thangmang Haokip, was arrested in May 2022 on charges of waging war against India and working against the nation to create an "independent Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Kukiland", according to the First Information Report and the chargesheet.
Mark Haokip's name came up after three men from the Meitei community were kidnapped by suspected Kuki insurgents in Kangpokpi district last week, and reports surfaced that the kidnappers demanded the state government to release Mark Haokip as a condition to free the hostages.
The incident comes amid the ethnic tension between the valley-dominant Meitei community and the Kuki tribes, who are dominant in the hill districts of southern Manipur and some other areas.
One of the three hostages, who had gone to attend the recruitment test for general duty constable at an Assam Rifles camp, was released by the captors. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said the men were "abducted" by who he claimed were "Kuki militants", while the police in a post on X has said they were held hostage by "unknown Kuki miscreants".
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Mark Haokip's family, however, in two separate statements shared with the media on Monday and Wednesday said they have no knowledge of any proposal of a prisoner swap as reported by a section of the media.
They appealed to people not to sensationalise the issue as their son's case is pending in court. A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court had already granted him default bail, before the Manipur High Court rejected it citing a Supreme Court ruling from May 2023.
"... In relation to the detention of two Meitei individuals and the rumoured discussion for a proposed swapping with Dr Mark T Haokip who is in judicial custody, we the family of Dr Mark T Haokip, hereby issue this press clarification that we have no knowledge about the said/alleged proposal and at the same time we would like to state that the case of Dr Mark T Haokip is subjudice and any recourse has to be taken through legal means," Mark Haokip's father M Limkhosei Haokip said in a statement on Wednesday.
"We, therefore, fervently appeal to all the people and communities of the state not to sensationalise the situation and add to our mental agony, but rather uphold and trust the rule of law," Mark Haokip's father said.
The family's statement seeking to delink Mark Haokip from the purported "prisoner swap" demand made by the kidnappers has raised questions over whether the jailed terror accused is being framed by the kidnappers, people with direct knowledge of the matter told NDTV, requesting anonymity.
'Kidnappers Not Village Defence Volunteers'
Sources in Kangpokpi told NDTV on phone the kidnappers are not the Kuki tribes' village defence volunteers who are guarding the sensitive area or "buffer zone" in the district 45 km from Imphal. The volunteers have got nothing to do with Mark Haokip, the sources said, requesting anonymity, and warned against linking them with the issue.
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The three Meitei men lost their way and entered a Kuki-dominated village in Kangpokpi while following Google Maps' directions to the general duty constable recruitment venue, Ningombam Johnson Singh, who was released by the kidnappers, had said in a video statement on Sunday.
Kangpokpi, however, is the turf and area of influence of a Kuki militant group, sources said, without giving further details since the hostage situation is not yet resolved.
There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis - a term given by the British in colonial times - who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.
The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar's Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.