Five held for ‘assault’ of four student leaders in Manipur

Five people have been arrested in Manipur’s Kakching district in connection with the brutal assault of four student leaders from the Monsang tribe — a case that has deepened tensions in a state already reeling from months of ethnic unrest.

According to police, the arrests were made on Friday following an FIR lodged at the Kakching Police Station. Two vehicles allegedly used in the incident have also been seized for verification. The accused hail from Pallel Thong Wangma and Pallel Chandel Lamkhai areas, officials said in a statement.

The incident took place on the night of 30 October near Bijoypur, along the Kakching–Lamkhai–Pallel Road, when four students from Chandel district were allegedly waylaid and assaulted by unidentified attackers. Their ordeal has sparked outrage among tribal organisations, with the Sirti Upa Ruh (Monsang Tribe Union) condemning the assault as a targeted act of violence against the community’s youth leadership.

The arrests come at a fraught moment for Manipur, which has been gripped by ethnic strife between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023 — violence that has claimed over 260 lives and displaced thousands.

With the state under President’s Rule following chief minister N. Biren Singh’s resignation, the assembly remains in suspended animation, and law enforcement continues to grapple with restoring calm in a landscape fractured by mistrust and fear.

With PTI inputs