2 Meitei hostages 'swapped' for 11 Kukis in Manipur jails

GUWAHATI: Two Meitei men held hostage by tribal Kuki village volunteers in Manipur's Kangpokpi for five days were freed Thursday in a purported exchange involving "safe passage" till their native district for 11 undertrial Kuki prisoners, all of whom got bail a couple of months ago but had remained in jail because it was deemed unsafe for them to step out unescorted.
Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), a Kuki group, handed over Oinam Thoithoi Singh and Thokchom Thoithoiba Singh to a senior police officer in the presence of Assam Rifles and CRPF teams at Kangpokpi's Gamgiphai, 23km from Imphal, around 5am. A third youth reported missing on Sept 27 along with the duo returned home the same day.
The tribal organisation released pictures of Kuki and Meitei representatives hugging and shaking hands during the handover, marking the first reciprocal gesture of conciliation from the warring sides in 17 months of ethnic conflict.
Around the same time, security forces escorted the 11 Kuki undertrials awaiting safe transportation from Imphal's Sajiwa jail to a church in their native district of Kangpokpi. The prisoners are facing investigation or trial for crimes ranging from murder to drug running.
Officials said the release of the two Meitei youths and the bailed undertrials were unconnected, but CoTU termed it an "exchange".
The organisation's spokesperson, Ng Lun Kipgen, said in a video-recorded statement that the "amicable solution" was made possible with the Centre's initiative.
The release of the duo was delayed due to some "conditions set by our village volunteers", he said. "The first demand was the transfer of all (Kuki-Zo) jail inmates from Imphal to a Kuki-Zo area like Churachandpur. The second one was the establishment of a police station in the Phailengmong area," Kipgen said.
"Had the CM (N Biren Singh) cared for those two detained individuals, he would have acted... We requested the Centre to intervene, and finally the DGP, at the behest of the central government, made it possible to reach an amicable solution."
Meitei Heritage Society, one among several influential civil society groups active in the valley, also issued a statement thanking central and state forces, the Manipur govt and others involved in the release of the hostages. But it added, "We are deeply concerned with the release of the Kuki miscreants/militants as part of the exchange deal to release the hostages because this sets a dangerous precedent," it said.