KSO-SH Alleges Gross Police Collusion, Demands Senapati SP, OC Sacked Within 48 Hours

The Kuki Students’ Organisation, Sadar Hills (KSO-SH) on Sunday issued a blistering indictment against the Superintendent of Police (SP), Senapati, and the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Senapati Police Station, accusing them of “grave dereliction of duty” and alleged active collusion in the abduction of 14 Kuki-Zo civilians — including three students — following the brutal killing of three Kuki-Zo Church leaders on May 13.

The student body alleged that 25 civilians from Taphou Kuki villages were escorted from Senapati on May 13 by Senapati Police led by OC Senapati Police Station under the direct supervision of SP Senapati, purportedly for their protection, but were instead abandoned to assailants and elements of the Senapati District Students’ Association (SDSA) less than a kilometre from both Senapati Police Station and the SP’s office.

Calling the episode a shocking collapse of law enforcement, KSO-SH said the hostages were allegedly transported openly through Senapati Bazar and past the police station gate without any intervention, despite the proximity to senior police authorities.

“This blatant abandonment of unarmed civilians under direct police escort has fundamentally shaken public faith and intensified widespread suspicion of active connivance between certain district police officials, including the SP and OC, and the assailant groups,” the student body asserted.

Significantly, KSO-SH highlighted that among the 14 hostages are three students — Sehminhao Chongloi of Guinchu Coaching Institute, Hengunsei Khongsai, a Class XI student of Young Pillars College, Churachandpur, and Tonggoulen Chongloi, a Class XII Commerce student of Eklavya Model Residential School, Kangpokpi — describing their continued captivity as an assault not only on civilians but on the future and educational security of the Kuki-Zo community.

The organisation accused SDSA of betraying prior inter-community student coordination intended to safeguard students during unrest and condemned the alleged involvement of a student body in hostage-taking.

“Students are not bargaining chips. The abduction of innocent youths for political or militant agendas is barbaric, cowardly, and morally indefensible,” KSO-SH said.

The student body further alleged that SDSA and the United Naga Council (UNC) were attempting to shield the perpetrators of the May 13 killings through what it termed a “fabricated hostage narrative.”

"The UNC and SDSA's concocted narrative of keeping Kuki-Zo civilians as hostages to absolve the perpetrators involved in the brutal crime is baffling and outrightly shameful," it stated.

KSO-SH directly blamed the proscribed NSCN-IM and its alleged proxy Kamson faction for the killing of the three Church leaders and warned that any continued silence or inaction from the government, particularly Senapati district police, would be viewed as direct complicity.

Issuing a 48-hour ultimatum, KSO-SH demanded the immediate termination of the Senapati SP and OC for alleged dereliction of duty and collusion, alongside the unconditional and safe release of all 14 hostages.

“If the three students and 11 other civilians are not returned unharmed immediately, KSO-SH will launch relentless and widespread democratic agitation, even to the extent of paralysing normalcy,” the student body warned.

Reaffirming that the safety, dignity, and future of Kuki-Zo students are “entirely non-negotiable,” KSO-SH declared that it would not retreat until justice is secured and all hostages are safely returned.