All is well that the two ‘remaining’ abducted youths were released by Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) early morning on Thursday at Sapermeina police station and brought home safe and sound. But a question mark remains on the circumstances surrounding the release.
A few minutes after the release, a photo of a COTU representative welcoming the 11 Kuki undertrial prisoners released by authorities at Sapermeina was posted on social media. State authorities did not want the release of the 11 undertrial prisoners to be linked with the handing over of the two abducted youths perhaps believing that it may lead to a backlash.
Unfortunately, COTU representatives came out with a statement that it was an ‘exchange’ following hectic negotiations. Qualified police sources tried to explain things by saying that, state was waiting for an opportune moment to release the 11 undertrial prisoners as they had already been given bail by the concerned courts and it so happened that adequate security arrangements were ‘suddenly’ made available around Wednesday midnight. What a coincidence!
Again, it so happened that state DGP Rajiv Singh was camping at Kangpokpi beyond midnight and reached Imphal only at 2.30 am. Wednesday was his third visit to Kangpokpi in which he negotiated with the CSOs there. A COTU representative further explained that they did not respond positively to DGP Rajiv Singh on the first visit as he came as a representative of the state government. They called up someone in New Delhi and asked them to intervene and on the second day Rajiv Singh came at the ‘behest’ of the Centre.
They had actually put in a demand for transfer of all Kuki-Zo prisoners in Imphal to be shifted to Churachandpur or Kuki dominated area, to which the state government was not willing. Finally, after Centre’s intervention the release of 11 undertrial prisoners were agreed upon, the COTU representative added. State authorities thought it was a win-win as the 11 persons were already given bail, while COTU had a face-saving option in the entire episode.
Whatever be their assumptions, it still remains a fact that the State has ‘surrendered’ or relented to the demands of the abductors while CSOs of Kangpokpi including COTU have chosen to project themselves as organisations willing to go to any length even hostage taking for realisation of demands or in simpler terms ‘exchange of prisoners’ in the present conflict. Everyone thought it was Kuki militants who abducted the three youths in Kangpokpi area. It ‘actually’ turned out to be Kuki village volunteers who abducted the youths as confessed by the COTU representative.
As we said earlier, the conflict has turned a new chapter with the abduction of three youths followed by a demand for release of a Kuki militant leader charged with secession and other Kuki prisoners lodged in Imphal in exchange for the two youths still in the custody of the abductors. Even with the kind of hostility prevalent, nobody expected a hostage situation. As a matter of fact, this is not the first instance of abduction of Meiteis by Kuki militants in the fringe areas. In most of the cases, security forces manage to intercept the militants and rescue the abductees.
In some cases, village volunteers on both sides had played good Samaritan by handing over persons who had accidentally crossed over the ‘line’ to the police. On the other hand, many had been hacked to death or ‘disappeared’ forcibly by unruly mobs. Earlier, several incidents of extreme violence had occurred. The primal urges or predatory instinct which otherwise lay dormant in each and every human being had been rekindled by the hate-driven violence. It laid bare the alarming level of hatred and animosity flowing from a misdirected passion, a state of mind bereft of reason and human compassion.
In short, irrationality and mob psychology had taken over. Senseless violence like beheadings, rape and molestation, violent killings of innocents had happened in the conflict. But, most of them happened in the heat of the moment. But abduction resulting in hostage situation is pre-mediated violence with a design pointing to an act of terrorism. No amount of justification from the abductors and those involved would suffice. And also, the act of the state and political leadership could not be condoned.