Women abducted for ransom, freed later
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 17 2023:
At least 11 women have been released after armed miscreants allegedly abducted them for ransom from Imphal in two separate incidents, said Naga Peoples' Union, Imphal.
In the first incident, four women were allegedly abducted from a beauty parlour located at Khongnang Ani Karak, Imphal on December 12 .
The four women hail from Chandel district.
One of them is the proprietor of the beauty parlour and the other three are her employees.
They were allegedly abducted from the beauty parlour at around 12 noon on December 12 by 10-12 armed men who came in two vehicles.
They were allegedly taken to Sawombung where the armed men demanded Rs 3-4 lakh as ransom, said the Naga Peoples' Union in a statement.
After some of their friends from the area intervened and spoke to some elders and leaders of the area, the four women were released at around 6 pm at Sekta, said NPU.
The four women were allegedly threatened with life for ransom and one of them was physically assaulted during the abduction.
She is now undergoing treatment.
Even after they were released, the armed men kept calling them over the phone to arrange the ransom amount within 2-3 days.
The armed men allegedly threatened to kill them if the ransom isn't given, said NPU.
In a separate incident that happened on the same day (December 12), some armed men and women allegedly abducted another seven women, all employees of a beauty parlour near Vishal Marg at Chingmeirong, Imphal.
The armed personnel came to the beauty parlour in the afternoon and allegedly pulled out a pistol and collected mobile phones, Aadhaar cards of all the staff including the Manager and the proprietor.
The seven women were then taken to a jungle at Sekta, Imphal East where the armed personnel physically assaulted the manager and the proprietor.
The armed miscreants had demanded a sum of Rs 5 lakh from the beauty parlour and they had taken Rs 2 lakh, claimed the Naga People's Union.
Extortion by armed miscreants from beauty parlours in Imphal has surged.
Many beauty parlours have been asked to pay extortion money ranging from a few thousands to lakhs in rupees, said NPU vehemently condemning the incidents.
Stating such incidents in the valley may create misunderstanding between communities, NPU appealed to the Government to immediately look into the incidents to protect life and properties of the people.
It also appealed to all CSOs in the valley for their assistance and cooperation in efforts to maintain peaceful coexistence.