Sharkaphung village in Kamjong district was thrown into tension last week after armed men said to be Kuki cadres entered the village and allegedly attempted to abduct a villager at gunpoint.
On 17 July, 2026, armed Kuki cadres under the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement intruded into Sharkaphung village under Kamjong district and abducted one Abner Kasar (45) at gunpoint while he was inspecting fish traps in a stream bordering Thawai Kuki village, said the Working Committee of the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL).
The incident occurred barely three days after an illegal combing operation conducted by a joint team of State Police, Assam Rifles, Punjab Regiment, Madras Regiment, and Bihar Regiment on 14 July 2026, and the subsequent apprehension of four innocent civil defence guards of the village.
Govt’s response sought
In view of the circumstances in vulnerable Naga villages in the hills of Manipur, the committee demanded the Khemchand-led ministry tender a satisfactory explanation of the approaches undertaken by the government to deal with the aggression of migrant Kuki militants and Kuki narco-terrorist groups towards other indigenous communities.
“If the Chief Minister remains silent on this issue, it shall be construed that his government is in cahoots with the Kuki armed groups. The Naga villagers have always been on the receiving end of the war-mongering Kukis, aided by the State and Central security forces. Hence, the BJP governments in Manipur and New Delhi are hereby held solely responsible for the violent conflict devastating the people in the State.”
Intrusion, abduction bid
The committee related that Kuki militants were seen intruding and resorting to electro-fishing in Sharkaphung farmland at around 4 pm on Friday, 17 July. On witnessing the brazen act of daylight theft, Abner Kasar, who was attending to his fish traps in a nearby stream at the time, rushed towards the paddy fields and managed to shoo away the intruders.
Later, Kasar was reportedly waylaid and captured by the armed Kuki militants while returning home. “As three of the cadres tried to forcibly take him away from the site, the other four militants moved into the forested area and attempted to launch another offensive against the villagers. However, the captive managed to escape after putting up a brave fight against his captors, who had begun physically assaulting him. On learning that he had escaped their clutches, the Kuki militants retreated from the precincts of Sharkaphung village,” it said.
Alleged pre-planned search ops
According to the TNL committee, the Kuki militants’ intrusion and abortive abduction were an inevitable outcome of the pre-planned search and combing operation carried out by the combined security forces. It further claimed that this makes it evident that the State and Central governments are openly aiding the Kuki militants under the SoO pact and their narco-terrorist groups to wage a proxy war against the Nagas.
The security forces, it said, strategically carried out the search and combing operation, threatened and arrested the village civil defence guards, and left the village defenceless and confused. Consequently, the Kuki militants capitalised on the situation in the Naga village, which was deliberately rendered vulnerable by the security forces.