Activist abducted, tortured by NSCN-Isak Muivah faction for filing RTI application in Manipur

An attempt to expose the misappropriation of development funds in Senapati district, proved very costly for Kh. Enoch, a social activist from lower Phaibung village of Manipur. Enoch along with P. Johnson had sought information on the dispersal of funds for various development projects.

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An attempt to expose the misappropriation of development funds in Senapati district, proved very costly for Kh. Enoch, a social activist from lower Phaibung village of Manipur.

Enoch along with P. Johnson of Taphon Phymai Village in Senapati district had sought information under RTI act on the dispersal of funds for various development projects, carried out by Autonomous District Council.

A sizable chunk of the funds meant for all Nagas were allegedly embezzled by some corrupt ADC members in collusion with senior leaders of NSCN/Isak-Muivah faction, and used for personal gain.

On January 20, armed cadres of the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction abducted Enoch and tortured him for daring to file an RTI in the matter. They kept him locked up for around 10 days at some unknown location and pressured him with death threats to withdraw the RTI. 

Unable to bear the torture, Enoch gave in to the threat of his captors and agreed to withdraw the RTI application. His wife had filed a missing person FIR, which too was withdrawn. 

He was fined Rs 15 lakhs for filing the RTI application and a separate fine of Rs 1.5 lakhs was imposed for filing the FIR. 

Meanwhile, Enoch's abduction scared other RTI activists and P. Johnson, Ngari Taidulomai moved out of Senapati to take refuge in Imphal. 

"The family members of three activists are being threatened to force them to surrender before the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction but the three have refused to cow down and are willing to risk their life to unravel the corruption, which has deprived the Nagas of development of any kind," a source told Zee News.

The Naga inhabited districts of Manipur witnesses a unholy nexus with the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction taking over all election processes in the area, using their muscle power to ensure victory of their favored candidates. 

The objective of the hijacking of democratic rights of the people is to take away a sizable chunk of the development funds, get employment for friends and relatives in departments under the ADC and get contracts awarded to their front men. 

The blatant embezzlement of funds is an not a secret and any dissent is brutally suppressed by the goons of the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction, which claim to be fighting for the rights of the Nagas.

The money is mostly pocketed by a handful of top leaders of the outfit, who have prospered in such an arrangement at the expense of the Naga populace.

Such behaviour begs the question, as to why the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction, who have been in negotiations with the Indian government for last 24 years, is coming up with impractical demands and prolonging the negotiation process. And if the status quo/stalemate suiting the top leaders of the outfit- all authority, prosperity but no responsibility and accountability.

The top leaders of the different Naga Underground faction, especially the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction, have prospered under this status quo. A trip through the bylanes of the colonies in Dimapur, inhabited by top leaders of the outfit, would clearly show where this money is being invested. 

Apart from owning huge lands and palatial buildings these leaders are suspected to be hoarding huge sums in cash as well. 

This dirty secret, had come out in the open, when Rayilung Nsarangbe, a Colonel of NSCN-Isak Muivah faction and the ADC of the Th. Muivah, General Secretary of the outfit, was arrested in July 2020 from Dimapur. A whopping Rs 1.58 crores was recovered from his residence and more money was found in multiple bank accounts.

If this continues, the Naga inhabited areas are likely to be left out of the development map of this nation.