Policeman from Kangpokpi questioned in abduction and killing of six Naga men in Manipur

A police personnel from Kangpokpi in Manipur has been interrogated by the police authorities in connection with the abduction and killing of six Naga men, whose mutilated bodies were recovered by the police on June 10, 2026, a senior government official told The Hindu.

The police official was recently interrogated by the Kangpokpi police amid indications that he could have played a role in the abduction of the six Naga men, including two pastors, on May 13 from Leilon Vaiphei village, shortly after the killing of three Thadou-Kuki church leaders in the vicinity on the same day.

“The investigation is still on; the police personnel’s exact role in the crime is yet to be ascertained. The Naga women who were held hostage and later released had mentioned the policeman in their statement to the police,” the official said.

Following public outrage over the killings, the State government handed over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is yet to make any arrests.

The six men and their family members were taken hostage, and 12 people, including women and children, were released later. At least 44 civilians were reportedly taken hostage by Kuki and Naga groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts, respectively, on May 13. While several of those abducted had been released earlier, 14 members of the Kuki community, who remained in captivity, were released on June 9, and the bodies of the six missing Naga men were recovered by the security forces on June 10.

On Saturday (July 4, 2026), Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the security situation in Manipur, where he is said to have directed the 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 tardy pace of investigations in recent and past cases of violence, including those between the Naga and Kuki communities, and called for the arrest of all suspects involved in the crimes. He is said to have stressed dismantling the narcotics trade in the region.

Following the Taliban-imposed ban on drugs in Afghanistan in 2022, Myanmar has emerged as an alternative source of global opium supply, and the consequences are already visible along India’s eastern borders, through the Manipur corridor, the Narcotics Control Bureau had said in its 2025 annual report.

While Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh joined virtually from Imphal, the meeting in Delhi was attended by the Manipur government’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 the Kuki and Meitei communities on May 3, 2023 has now expanded to Kuki and Naga communities, and has claimed the lives of 300 people so far. At least 40 people have been killed since February 4 after President’s Rule was revoked in the State and an elected government was restored.

Due to Kangpokpi’s location — surrounded by the Naga-dominated Senapati district in the north and the Meitei-dominated valley districts in the south — transportation of essential items on National Highway 2 has been severely affected, with Naga village volunteers imposing a blockade on goods entering from Nagaland and Assam.

Security agencies are ensuring the supply of essential items to Kangpokpi, and recently, six people from the Naga community were arrested for blocking vehicles towards the Kuki-dominated district, the official said.