A Nepali-origin internally displaced person (IDP), who legally adopted a Kuki identity after marrying a Kuki woman, was allegedly abducted, blindfolded and brutally assaulted for several hours by a group of Liangmei Naga volunteers accompanied by suspected members of Arambai Tenggol at Kanglatongbi in Imphal West district on May 19.
The victim, identified as Thangtinlen Doungel, formerly known as Ramesh Bhandari, is a registered IDP under Saitu Sub-Division. According to family members, the incident occurred in broad daylight while he had gone to Kanglatongbi Bazar Board to purchase rice for his family.
He was eventually rescued following the intervention of leaders from the Gorkha community and was later reunited with his wife after enduring what the family described as hours of illegal confinement and physical torture.
Condemning the incident, the victim’s wife, Nemlam Doungel, described the assault as a deeply inhuman act committed against a displaced civilian already struggling to survive the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.
“My husband left home only to buy rice and returned with bruises all over his body,” she said.
Explaining the family’s background, Nemlam stated that her husband originally belonged to the Nepali community and hailed from Koubru Laikha, while she is from Maphou Kuki Laikoching village in Kangpokpi district.
She said the couple married in 2012 and subsequently settled in her native village, where her husband voluntarily embraced Christianity with the consent of his family and legally adopted a Kuki identity.
“His name was officially changed from Ramesh Bhandari to Thangtinlen Doungel by taking my clan name, and all his official documents, including his Aadhaar Card, were updated in 2016,” she stated.
The family was later displaced following the outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur and initially took shelter at N. Songlung before relocating to Gamnom Saparmeina.
According to Nemlam, the couple currently earns a living by working in a water bottling business and supplying drinking water to Saparmeina and nearby areas.
Recounting his ordeal, the visibly traumatised victim alleged that he was targeted solely because he carried a Kuki name. He said he had gone to Kanglatongbi Bazar Board to buy rice when a shop owner instructed him to first obtain permission from volunteers allegedly monitoring the transportation of essential commodities towards the Kangpokpi side at Kanglatongbi Bridge.
“It was around 11:30 am when I approached them. They asked for my Aadhaar Card, but I had forgotten to carry it. They then searched my bag and found vehicle documents bearing my Kuki name,” he recounted.
According to the victim, he was immediately blindfolded, his hands tied behind his back, and taken to an unidentified location where he was allegedly assaulted repeatedly.
“They suspected me because I bore a Kuki name,” he alleged.
Despite repeatedly informing the group that he was born into a Nepali family and had legally changed his name after marriage and conversion to Christianity, he claimed the assault continued unabated.
“They kept interrogating me and beating me even after I explained everything. I was taken to three different places, but I could not identify the locations because I remained blindfolded the entire time,” he said.
He further alleged that he was finally released around 4:30 pm following intervention by Gorkha community leaders, who later handed him over safely to his wife.
The victim was subsequently taken to a local hospital where he reportedly received treatment for multiple injuries sustained during the alleged assault.
The couple has one son who is currently studying in Class VI at Saparmeina.
The incident has triggered widespread condemnation among members of the displaced Kuki-Zo community, many of whom described the alleged abduction and torture as a “barbaric act against humanity” and a disturbing reflection of how civilians continue to be targeted on the basis of identity amid the protracted ethnic unrest in Manipur.
Community members further stated that the alleged blindfolding, prolonged illegal detention and physical torture of a displaced civilian attempting to procure food supplies constituted a serious violation of human rights and basic human dignity.
