The search for a 71-year-old Kuki man abducted from his farm in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district ended in tragedy on Sunday when his body was found deep inside a jungle with his hands and legs tied with rope.
Hemjang Haokip, a resident of Khunkho Kuki village near the Leimakhong Army Headquarters, had allegedly been abducted from his farm hut on October 3 by armed NSCN-IM militants, according to the Khunkho Kuki Village Authority.
His farm hut was also allegedly razed by the armed men, following which his whereabouts remained unknown.
After an extensive search involving locals, Leimakhong police and central security forces, Haokip’s body was found at around 2.30 pm in the S. Golai area.
The body was recovered by a joint search team of police, central forces ans the locals after security forces deployed sniffer dogs following the discovery of the elderly man’s clothes earlier in the day.
His farm trousers, shirt and sweater were found during the morning search, triggering an intensified operation to trace him.
Local sources said there were no apparent bullet injuries on the body and suspected that Haokip may have been beaten to death after being bound. The circumstances surrounding his death, however, are yet to be officially established.
Earlier, the Khunkho Kuki Village Authority strongly condemned the alleged abduction, describing it as a targeted act of violence against a defenceless senior citizen and a grave violation of human rights. It urged the state government and security agencies to immediately investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice.
The incident had sparked anguish and outrage in the community, with Kuki-Zo women leading a peaceful sit-in protest at Leimakhong bazar demanding the safe release of the elderly farmer.
In a particularly poignant moment, Haokip’s wife joined the protest, visibly distressed, and recalled the last time she saw her husband.
She said the couple had returned from their farm to the village on Thursday as she had to attend a women’s society worship service at the church on Friday.
Haokip returned to the farm on Saturday to look after their cattle and agricultural activities, but never came back, she said.
The village authority had earlier issued a 24-hour ultimatum, demanding his safe and unconditional release by October 4, warning of widespread democratic protests if he was not returned.
But by the time the deadline arrived, the search had ended with the recovery of his body.
Following the recovery, the community decided not to claim the body in accordance with an earlier decision of the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) concerning Kuki-Zo bodies lying unclaimed in morgues.
The body is likely to be kept at a morgue, possibly at the Churachandpur District Hospital, sources said.
The KZC had, during a recent consultation meeting in Kangpokpi, set October 10 as a deadline for the Government of India to address the issue of Kuki-Zo bodies kept unclaimed at the Churachandpur District Hospital morgue and announced plans for a series of agitations if its demands were not addressed.
According to the KZC, eight Kuki-Zo bodies are currently lying unclaimed at the Churachandpur District Hospital morgue, excluding Haokip’s body recovered on Sunday.
With the recovery of Haokip’s body, the number of Kuki-Zo bodies that the community says remain unclaimed has risen to nine.
The KZC has alleged that the unclaimed bodies were of persons killed by armed NSCN-IM cadres and their alleged proxy group ZUF-K.
The killing of the elderly farmer has added another grim chapter to the continuing violence and insecurity in the conflict-hit region, where even a 71-year-old farmer working in his field became the victim of an alleged armed abduction.
