Imphal: A group of armed Kukis have brutally assaulted the president of Kom Union Manipur, (KUM) Serto Ahao Kom. He is undergoing treatment at Ortho Special Ward of RIMS hospital in Imphal. Serto Ahao Kom said he was abducted by armed Kuki group from Chingfei area in Churachandpur District on his way to visit his family members at Khoirentak Khunou in the district at around 3:30 pm on July 3. From there, the armed miscreants reportedly took him to another place where he was brutally assaulted. Serto has sustained injuries to his shoulder, lower back and left hand.
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Serto said he was attacked by the armed Kuki group on allegations that he was a member of Arambai Tenggol, COCOMI and a supporter of the Meitei community. Serto said he clarified that he is neither a member of Arambai Tenggol nor COCOMI but that he is associated with COCOMI, UCM, FOCS and Meitei people with regards to developmental works and not otherwise. To this, the armed Kuki miscreants apologised to him for acting on a false intelligence report and took him to a Kuki guest house where he had spent a night before he was released the next day. Serto appealed to those concerned to stop laying hands without ascertaining the facts, adding that he is not revengeful and that God sees everything.
Meanwhile, Kom Union Manipur has condemned the life threat to KUM president Serto Ahao Kom and is filing a police complaint.
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Speaking to the media at Manipur Press Club today, Kom Union Manipur advisor Boyes Kom said Serto was attacked by cadres of Kuki Independent Army on his way to visit his ailing father in Khoirentak Khunou. He said that the Kom community is an indigenous minority community of Manipur and it has remained neutral in the prevailing conflicts and that it has been striving for restoration of peace in the state without siding with any of the warring communities in the state.
Boyes Kom furhter said Kom Union Manipur has been in touch with the civil bodies of all the communities in the state to facilitate restoration of peace and normalcy in the state. Kom Union Manipur Women Wing general secretary Kim Serto and Union advisor T. Achung were present during the press briefing.
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