KNF rebuts compensation fund diversion slur
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 23 2025: The armed Kuki National Front (KNF) has strongly denied the allegations circulated in certain media reports claiming that KNF cadres forced villagers along the Imphal-Kangpokpi stretch of Asian Highway-2 to sign blank papers or diverted their compensation funds.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, KNF Information and Publicity secretary Lh Stephen emphasised that KNF has no involvement in forcibly collecting money from villagers for compensation claims.

"We uphold the fundamental rights of our people to receive full and fair compensation as per government norms without fear or coercion.

Our organisation has consistently supported developmental works in our operational areas, including road construction, in strict adherence to the Suspension of Operation (SoO) ground rules.

We reiterate our commitment to ensuring the smooth implementation of government projects that benefit the Kuki community," it said.

Strongly condemning what it termed as baseless allegations aimed at maligning the image of KNF and derailing the ongoing peace and political dialogues, the armed organisation alleged that such rumours appear to be motivated by vested interests to create misunderstanding between KNF and the public.

"We urge all village chiefs, civil society organisations, and the media to verify facts thoroughly before publishing unverified reports that could undermine the dignity, unity, and stability of our Kuki people," it said.

KNF further asserted that it remains steadfast in its commitment to the protection, development, and political aspirations of the Kuki people through peaceful means under the current negotiation framework.

The KNF issued the clarification after a recent report by the NDTV, which The People's Chronicle had also published, quoted people affected by three ongoing highway widening projects in Kangpokpi district that an insurgent group (KNF) forced them to sign on blank papers to take a cut from their compensation money.

Many have complained of receiving less than 50 per cent of what they were supposed to get.

They have filed a complaint with the deputy commissioner (DC), Mahesh Chaudhari, for a correction as the DC is the competent authority to whom the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) released Rs 320.52 crore in three tranches as compensation under Section 3G of the National Highways Act, 1956, mentioned the report.

When contacted DC Chaudhari told NDTV he has received the complaint, but declined to give further details, other than stating: "We are working on it as per the rules" .

Under the provisions of the National Highways Act, the DC is the 'competent authority (land acquisition)', or CALA, for disbursing the compensation amount sent by the NHIDCL.

Hundreds of pages of documents including bank statements, court papers and written complaints accessed by NDTV and analysed for over a month indicate the beneficiaries' allegations may merit an investigation into possible diversion of government money towards terror funding by insurgent groups.

Multiple credits into the accounts of just eight people in Kangpokpi - allegedly the middlemen of the insurgent group - from the compensation fund amount to Rs 18 crore.

This number may rise later as more names come out.

To put this into perspective, that is enough to buy several guns and other lethal weapons from the black market, according to land conflict analysts, maintained the NDTV report.

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