New Delhi: At 4 a.m. on Thursday, two men from the Meitei community, who had been taken captive in the Kangpokpi hills of Manipur on 27 September, were escorted from Kangpokpi to Imphal via National Highway 2 and handed over to a police officer from Imphal West.
As their release was secured, 20 minutes later, along the same route, a group of 11 Kukis—who had been lodged in Imphal prison and were taken to a nearby police station closer to the buffer zone—were escorted to Saparmeina in Kangpokpi by local police and the Assam Rifles. They were handed over to Kuki groups with assurances that they would be safely returned to their homes.
This operation to exchange the 11 Kuki prisoners to secure the release of two Meitei men, carried out discreetly in the early hours of Thursday along the Imphal-Kangpokpi buffer zone, was the result of a week-long intensive negotiations led by the Manipur Police, ThePrint has learnt.
These discussions involved various stakeholders, including officers from the Intelligence Bureau, and were conducted under close scrutiny, with regular updates provided to the Union Home Ministry in Delhi, sources in the security establishment told ThePrint.
‘A bargaining chip’
While the sources confirmed that the movement of the Kuki prisoners, who were in jail on charges of murder, rioting, and two under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), was conducted in exchange for the release of the two Meitei men, they said that the prisoners were already out on bail but kept in prison for their security.
According to records accessed by ThePrint, the 11 Kukis were granted bail between July and September. The latest being bail of Tongminthang Haokip, a resident of Kangpokpi booked under the UAPA in two separate cases, who was given bail on 20 September.
This status, they said, was used as a “bargaining chip to secure the release of the two men”.
“These 11 people had been granted bail by the court much before the two Meitei men were captured. They were awaiting release, but were kept inside (jail) for their security. We were supposed to escort them to their homes safely in September but then the situation became tense again and it was stalled,” a police source said.
The source said when the negotiations with the Kuki groups were on, the police offered safe movement of the 11 Kukis, which was agreed upon.
“This we saw as an opportunity to guarantee their safe return, as no one in Imphal would object to their movement under these circumstances, knowing that the two Meitei men would also be safely handed over in this exchange,” the source said, asserting that this should not be viewed as a situation in which either the police or the government was taken hostage for ransom.
‘Multiple rounds of talks, assured security’
A second source in the security establishment said that to secure the release of the two Meiteis, multiple rounds of talks were held for which Director General of Police (DGP) Rajiv Singh visited Kangpokpi multiple times.
The Kukis, the sources said, had a list of demands, including a separate police station in Phailengmol region of Kangpokpi district and transferring of Kuki prisoners from Imphal jail to the prison in Churachandpur.
The groups, however, were conveyed that this was not something the police had the powers to do.
“The police remained firm that any of the illogical demands will not be considered. The groups were made to understand that for transfer of prisoners, they would have to approach the court and there is a process for it,” the source said.
The Kuki groups also demanded security be provided to people who wanted to return to their villages that were burnt in the initial phase of violence.
“They demanded additional security in a few areas, so that villagers who fled when the violence began, could return home. We assured that the issue would be addressed,” the source said.
“The negotiations took time but the police ensured that it was done. This is also a ray of hope for Manipur that a negotiation was possible. In fact, one Naga MLA also volunteered to make this a success.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)