Detention of Myanmarese Kukis in imphal jail worries KOHUR
Source: Chronicle News Service

Kangpokpi, July 27 2025: In a representation to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Governor of Manipur, the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights (KOHUR) has raised serious constitutional and humanitarian concerns over the continued detention of more than 60 Kuki-ethnic Myanmarese nationals in Imphal Central Jail, Manipur - including two individuals reportedly held beyond their legal sentence term.

The appeal, addressed separately to Justice V Rama-subramanian, chairperson of the NHRC, and Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, describes the situation as a "grave violation" of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and a breach of international human rights norms to which India is a signatory.

Citing official notifications issued earlier by the Governor's office, which facilitated the transfer of Indian Kuki undertrials from conflict-prone zones in Imphal to temporary prisons in Kuki-majority districts such as Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, and Tengnoupal, KOHUR argued that the same protection must be extended to Myanmarese detainees of Kuki ethnicity.

"These individuals, though foreign nationals, share the same ethnic, cultural, and linguistic roots as the indige nous Kukis of Manipur.

Many have ancestral and familial ties in the region," the representation stated, adding that excluding them from the relocation effort on grounds of nationality amounts to discriminatory treatment.

KOHUR has also highlighted the plight of two detainees who, it claims, have completed their sentences but remain unlawfully incarcerated - calling it an act of "arbitrary detention" and a "serious miscarriage of justice" .

"The refusal or delay in transferring these detainees to Kuki-majority districts constitutes differential treatment that violates the principle of equal protection under the law and exposes them to trauma in a hostile custodial environment," said KOHUR chairperson HS Benjamin Mate in the NHRC representation.

The rights body has demanded that the Manipur government immediately release the two Myanmarese Kuki detainees who have served their full sentences, expedite the transfer of the remaining undertrials to safer Kuki-majority districts, and launch an official enquiry to prevent the recurrence of such discriminatory practices.

In its letter to Governor Balla, KOHUR urged action "on purely humanitarian grounds", warning that continued confinement in a communally sensitive area like Imphal could further endanger the detainees' mental and physical well-being.

The representation also emphasised that while these individuals are legallyforeign nationals, their ethnic identity entitles them to "equal regard and empathy" in the application of security and custodial policies.

With Manipur still grappling with intermittent ethnic unrest, the call for the detainees' relocation has gained urgency, particularly amid growing concerns about the treatment of ethnic minorities caught in the crossfire of the state's law-and-order crisis.

The NHRC has yet to issue a public response, but sources within the commission have indicated that the matter may be taken Up for urgent review.

Meanwhile, civil society groups and legal observers are urging the government to adhere strictly to constitutional guarantees and international detention norms.

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