Efforts on to release Kuki, Naga people held hostage in Manipur, say Ministers

A day after four persons were killed in separate incidents in Manipur, the State’s Home Minister, Govindas Konthoujam, said on Thursday that at least 38 people from the Kuki and Naga communities are being held hostage by different groups.

While some organisations claimed that 43 people have been either detained or abducted by various groups, Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho said that at least 44 have been abducted with an infant and two Naga Catholic trainee priests among them.

Three of the four killed in Wednesday’s separate ambushes by suspected extremists were Kuki church leaders. Two of them were key members of the Thadou Baptist Association of India (TBAI). The attacks took place in the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district. The fourth, a Naga villager, was killed in the Naga-majority Noney district.

“We have reports that more than 38 people from both communities have been held hostage by different groups. We are working with civil society organisations and political leaders to secure their release,” Mr. Konthoujam told journalists after visiting the family of Wilson Thanga, who was killed in Noney. He also went to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in the State’s capital, Imphal, where Thanga’s body had been kept for autopsy. Three Naga MLAs accompanied him.

Family members of Wilson Thanga, who was killed in Manipur’s Noney district on Wednesday evening as suspected militants fired on his vehicle, mourn after his body was deposited at JNIMS mortuary for post-mortem in Imphal on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

Speaking with The Hindu, the Deputy Chief Minister, who is leading the negotiations on behalf of the State government to secure the release of those abducted, said that the killing of the church leaders was “unprecedented” as such attacks did not occur even at the height of previous conflicts.

He said talks were on with Kuki and Naga groups till late on Thursday and efforts were on to find an amicable solution. The hill districts of the State remained tense on Thursday after the attacks. Mr. Konthoujam said the State government apprised Union Home Minister Amit Shah of the security situation and of efforts to secure the hostages’ release. “We suspect that some people do not want peace to return to Manipur,” he said.

“We have been trying to find an amicable solution and while talks were on with Kuki and Naga groups till late on Thursday, we have not been able to reach a conclusion. At least 11 Nagas are present at the camp of a Kuki SoO (insurgent group in Suspension of Operations pact with the government) group but the whereabouts of seven others are not known yet. This has led to delay in the release of all hostages,” said Mr. Dikho, who belongs to the Naga People’s Front, an alliance partner of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Manipur’s Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, however, doubted the government’s seriousness in protecting the lives and property of the people of the State affected by an ethnic conflict since May 3, 2026. “We strongly condemn this violence and the Government of India’s irresponsible abdication of duty, and demand immediate action against those responsible,” he said.

In an ultimatum to the Chief Minister, the United Naga Council (UNC) said Kuki groups have held 20 Nagas hostage in Kangpokpi district. The UNC is the apex body of the Naga tribes of Manipur. The UNC said 18 of these hostages, including women and a two-year-old child, are at Leilon Vaiphei village, while two priests are at Sapermeina.

The UNC set 6 p.m. of May 15 as the deadline for the government to ensure the release of the abducted Nagas to avert “any consequences arising out of its inaction”.