The Indian Army stated that an army officer, who was abducted from his residence in Manipur earlier today, has been successfully rescued by them this evening after a duration of approximately 10 hours.
At around 9 am on Friday, unidentified individuals in a vehicle abducted Naib Subedar Konsam Kheda Singh, a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) from Charangpat Mamang Leikai in Thoubal district, while he was on leave at his residence.
"Army columns launched a coordinated joint search operation by the security agencies to rescue the JCO," the army statement said.
"The synergised efforts of the security forces resulted in the JCO being safely rescued at 6:30 pm today. The JCO is currently at Waikhong Police Station (near Kakching) in the Thoubal district. Manipur Police is investigating the incident," it further added.
According to a post on X, the Public Relations Officer for Nagaland, Manipur and Southern Arunachal Pradesh in the Defence Ministry stated, "#IndianArmy rescued its JCO, Nb Sub Konsam Kheda Singh, of Charangpat Mamang Leikai, Thoubal, #Manipur, abducted this morning, while on leave. The @manipur_police is investigating the case."
The abduction of the soldier marked the fourth occurrence of its kind in the state since May 2023, when ethnic conflicts erupted in the border region.
In September 2023, an unidentified armed group abducted and murdered Serto Thangthang Kom, a former soldier of the Assam Regiment. At the time, he was stationed in Leimakhong, Manipur, serving in the Defence Service Corps (DSC).
After a gap of just two months, an unidentified group of armed men abducted four people while they were traveling from Churachandpur to Leimakhong in an SUV and killed them. They were identified as family members of an Indian Army soldier who was posted in Jammu and Kashmir. The fifth passenger in the car, the soldier's father, who was injured, successfully escaped. He was later transported by the army via an airlift to Dimapur and was eventually transferred to the base hospital in Guwahati for medical care.
In a separate incident, a senior police officer was briefly abducted in Imphal on February 27. The police identified the kidnappers as Arambai Tenggol. In response to the incident, commandos from Manipur Police staged a symbolic protest, lowering their weapons in the state.
