2 IRB Personnel Freed After Brief Detention by KNA-B in Manipur
Security sources on Sunday said that the personnel were identified as Thotreimung (Tangkhul) and Pasel Ana, both posted at Huimine Thana under Chassad Police Station near the Indo-Myanmar border
Guwahati: Amid the ongoing hostage crisis in Manipur, two personnel of the 11th India Reserve Battalion (IRB), who were missing from Huimine Thana, a remote border area of Kamjong district, were safely released after being briefly detained by cadres of the Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B).
Security sources on Sunday said that the personnel were identified as Thotreimung (Tangkhul) and Pasel Ana, both posted at Huimine Thana under Chassad Police Station near the Indo-Myanmar border. According to sources, the duo had left for a temporary refugee camp at Shangkalok/Kheirongram in Ramphoi village, located between Border Pillars 100 and 102, when they went missing around 10 am on Saturday, triggering concern among security agencies.
The incident had triggered fresh tension in the area but the duo was released unharmed and handed over to the Assam Rifles at the India-Myanmar border. The Assam Rifles unit stationed at Phaikoh subsequently handed them over to Manipur Police officials in Kamjong district.
The KNA-B later in a statement claimed that the two men from Manipur had “illegally crossed into Myanmar for illicit activities” and were subsequently released “in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.”
The Kuki National Army (KNA), the armed wing of the Kuki National Organisation, operates through two distinct branches divided by the international border.
Meanwhile, this fresh incident of kidnapping came amid continuing tension over the abduction case in Kangpokpi district, where 14 Kuki villagers remain missing.
In connection with that case, Manipur chief minister Y Khemchand Singh has appealed to community leaders to cooperate with authorities and facilitate the safe return of those abducted.
Security sources clarified that the released personnel are not among the 14 people allegedly missing in the state’s hill districts.
