The Working Committee of the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) strongly objected to the bizarre arrest of Joint Tribes Council Manipur (JTCM) leaders on the 30th of July 2026 in Imphal by the Indian Security Forces a day after the declaration of emergency shutdown by the organisation following the attack on Naga Village Guards (NVG) at Bitiang under Noney District of Manipur.
The press communique issued by the Media Cell, Working Committee, TNL stated that “the arrest of JTCM leaders who are spearheading for delivery of justice against the brutal killing of its six members and whose dismembered bodies were recovered only on the 10th of June 2026, is totally uncalled for and highly condemnable. Moreover, the Naga villages under Noney and Tamenglong District have come under constant attacks from the Kuki militants under the SoO Agreement and the narco-terrorists. In these circumstances, the leaders of JTCM have been undertaking serious efforts in maintaining peace and ensuring security for the people in the region.
“Since the beginning of the prevailing Kuki-Naga conflict in the hills of Manipur, the general public has been questioning the intention of the Indian Security Forces whose operational conduct has been far from neutral. However, after it launched an armed offensive against the NVGs at Bitiang resulting in killing a civil guard and injuring three (3) others on the 29th of July 2026, and the Thursday’s arrest and detention of the JTCM leaders in Imphal, has furthered ascertained the lingering doubt that the Security Forces are taking a definite side with the Kuki CSOs, militants and narco-terrorists, who had openly admitted for the abduction and killing of six Liangmai Nagas at Leilon Vaiphei.
“In this given situation, the Working Committee of TNL re-questioned the rationale behind. the armed attack carried out by the Cobra Unit against the civil volunteers and the subsequent arrest and detention of JTCM leaders by Security Forces in Imphal. The public in the State has been demanding the arrest of main culprits behind the forceful abduction and brutal killing of six Liangmai Nagas. Nonetheless, the concerned authorities has remained silent over the issue and engaged in tactical and diversionary move. In this regard, we therefore vehemently condemn the biased act of the Security Forces, the Government of Manipur and the New Delhi” stated the press communique issued by the Media Cell, Working Committee, TNL.
