Kuki Inpi Extends Total Shutdown as 14 Hostages Still Missing, Protest Rally at Motbung

In a dramatic escalation of pressure on authorities, the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body of the Kuki tribes, on Friday extended its ongoing 48-hour total shutdown by another 48 hours after confirming that while 14 abducted Kuki civilians were released, 14 others continue to remain in what it described as “illegal detention and unlawful custody.”

KIM said the shutdown extension would take effect from midnight of May 15, intensifying an already volatile standoff over what it termed the “barbaric hostage-taking of innocent civilians.”

Calling the continued captivity of Kuki civilians a “direct assault on human dignity, democratic values, and the rule of law,” the organisation accused authorities of failing to act decisively and warned that any delay in securing the immediate, safe and unconditional release of the remaining detainees would embolden “terror and lawlessness” while further destabilising the region.

“The dignity, security, and lives of our people are non-negotiable,” KIM declared, asserting that while it has exercised restraint in the interest of hostage safety, such patience “must never be misconstrued as weakness.”

KIM further directed all District Civil Society Organisations and Kuki-Zo frontal bodies to intensify democratic and constitutional agitation, announcing a major sit-in protest under the aegis of CoTU at Motbung in Kangpokpi district on Saturday, alongside a mass rally in Churachandpur district and coordinated demonstrations across other Kuki-Zo-dominated regions.

Describing the abductions as a “dangerous violation of constitutional and humanitarian principles,” KIM warned that failure to crush such acts with urgency would not only jeopardise innocent lives but also undermine peace and stability in the conflict-hit state.

The organisation said it would continue to closely monitor developments and hold the government and all concerned authorities “morally and administratively accountable” for the fate of the remaining hostages.

With shutdowns deepening, public protests intensifying, and Kuki-Zo bodies mobilising district-wide, the hostage crisis is rapidly emerging as a defining flashpoint with potentially far-reaching implications for Manipur’s fragile security landscape.