GUWAHATI
The Manipur Police rescued two minor girls recruited by an extremist outfit, an official statement said on Tuesday (March 11, 2025).
One of the girls was rescued from the Kakching district and the other from the Thoubal district, both in the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley, during search operations on March 10.
The police also arrested two members of the outlawed People’s Liberation Army, identified as 23-year-old Moirangthem Romen Singh and 54-year-old Nongmaithem Mohendro Singh for allegedly recruiting the two girls. Five other militants were arrested from the Bishnupur, Imphal East, and Imphal West districts.
Extremist groups in the northeast have been known to recruit minors to fight their wars against the establishment as “child soldiers”. In January, the Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPCR) and other rights bodies expressed concern over reports of armed groups using children as fighters in the ethnic conflict in the State.
The conflict between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities since May 2023 claimed more than 250 lives and displaced 60,000 people.
“Conventional and social media reports say certain communities are engaging in the recruitment of children to be their frontline fighters in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) norms, which prohibit recruiting or using child soldiers in conflicts,” MCPCR chairperson Keisham Pradipkumar said on January 30.
“We produced the two rescued girls before the Chairperson of Thoubal district’s Child Welfare Committee toward reuniting them with their families,” a district police officer said, not wishing to be named.
