Suspected Kuki militants, assaulted 3 Tangkhul Nagas in Ukhrul

Ukhrul: Three persons from the Tangkhul Nagas community were physically assaulted by unidentified armed miscreants in Imphal, Manipur, on Sunday night. On Tuesday, the Ukhrul police station registered a case for further investigation.

According to sources, the victims were on their way from Imphal to Ukhrul when the vehicle they were travelling in was stopped by women at Sawombung at around 9 pm to ‘check their identity’.

However, after verification, five armed miscreants came and whisked them away in a white vehicle (Maruti Gypsy). Later, the three Tangkhul men were beaten up brutally for no reason known.

As per the victim’s statement, the women appealed to the armed miscreants to let the victims go since they identified themselves. However, they (the victims) were forcibly taken away to another location.

“They took us to a nearby bridge and after interrogation, we were asked to lie down and started beating us brutally. They accused us of being a spy/informer of Kuki, which we denied. They even threatened to shoot us with the weapons they were carrying,” said one of the victims.

“After beating us black and blue at the bridge, they took us to another place and told us to run, but we objected to that,” added the victim. The victims were released only after the armed miscreants ascertained their identities through a phone call to one Tangkhul lady on speaker.

By that time, it was already 1 am, said one of the victims. Another victim also informed that since they were scared for their life, they did not report the incident to the police immediately. “On Tuesday, we lodged a complaint to the police through the Ukhrul SP,” he added.

After the complaint was lodged, the three victims were taken to Ukhrul District Hospital for medical check-ups since they complained of chest pain. After the medical examination, the doctor released them on the same day.

According to a medical report, two of the victims showed bruises over the whole buttock, while the other suffered injuries on the right arm and right leg.