Victim says he was blindfolded, beaten by Liangmei Naga volunteers and suspected Arambai Tenggol members after documents showed his adopted name
Edited by Kimbawinu Vaiphei, Kukiland Express Desk Songpi: May 21, 2026
A Nepali-origin internally displaced person married to a Kuki woman was allegedly abducted, blindfolded, and assaulted for hours on May 19 by a group of Liangmei Naga volunteers along with suspected members of Arambai Tenggol at Kanglatongbi in Imphal West district.
The victim was identified as Ramesh Bhandari, who legally changed his name to Thangtinlen Doungel after marrying a Kuki woman and converting to Christianity. He is registered as an IDP under Saitu Sub-Division, Kangpokpi. His family said the incident took place in broad daylight when he went to Kanglatongbi Bazar Board to buy rice.
According to his wife Nemlam Doungel, Bhandari was rescued after intervention by Gorkha community leaders and handed over to her following hours of alleged torture and illegal confinement. “My husband left home only to buy rice and returned with bruises all over his body,” she said.
Nemlam said her husband is originally from Koubru Laikha and she is from Maphou Kuki Laikoching village in Kangpokpi district. “After our marriage in 2012, we lived in my village. My husband voluntarily embraced Christianity with the consent of his family and legally adopted a Kuki name. 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 said.
The family was displaced after the outbreak of the Kuki-Meitei conflict and first took shelter at N. Songlung before moving to Gamnom Saparmeina. “We work in a water bottling firm and supply water in Saparmeina and adjoining areas to earn our livelihood,” Nemlam added.
Recounting the assault, the victim alleged he was targeted solely because he carried a Kuki identity. He said he was told to get permission from volunteers monitoring essential commodities 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 snatched my bag and found vehicle documents bearing my Kuki name,” he said.
“Immediately, they blindfolded me, tied my hands behind my back and took me to a house where they started beating me mercilessly. They suspected me because I bore a Kuki name,” he alleged. Despite explaining his background and legal name change, he said the assailants continued to interrogate and assault him at three different locations while he remained blindfolded. He was released around 4:30 pm after Gorkha leaders intervened and later received medical treatment for multiple injuries.
The incident has drawn condemnation from members of the displaced Kuki community, who called it a “barbaric act against humanity” and said civilians were being targeted based on identity amid continuing ethnic unrest in Manipur. Community members said the alleged abduction, blindfolding, physical torture, and prolonged illegal detention of a displaced civilian procuring food supplies represented a violation of basic human rights and dignity.
