Four persons were arrested on Monday for their suspected involvement in the abduction of six Naga men in the Kangpokpi district on May 13, the Manipur Police said.The men were apprehended from an area between P Molding and Leilon Veiphei in the district. They are 51-year-old Thangkhomang Khongsai, 40-year-old Seikholet Khongsai, 27-year-old Lunminthang Dimngel and 30-year-old Kamgoulal Khongsai.The men are suspected to be “active cadres of armed village volunteer groups” in Kangpokpi and are “suspected to have been involved in anti-social activities” such as extortion, criminal intimidation and possession of arms and ammunition, the police stated.The term “village volunteers” has been used for armed civilians guarding villages since ethnic clashes broke out in the state in May 2023.The four men were apprehended in a joint operation conducted by the state police, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Assam Rifles.On May 13, more than 38 persons from the Kuki and Naga communities had been taken hostage by armed groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts, according to state Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam. However, an unidentified police officer had told The Indian Express at the time that the total number of persons being held hostage was unclear.The abductions had taken place after three church leaders were killed and five persons injured when the vehicles they were travelling in were ambushed while they were returning from a meeting in Churachandpur to Kangpokpi. Another civilian was also killed and his wife wounded in Noney district.The police have said that 31 of the persons, including Nagas and Kukis, who were abducted had been released. The six Nagas are missing.On Saturday, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said that the inquiry into the abductions and the killing of the church leaders would be handed over to the National Investigation Agency.The developments came amid tensions between Kukis and Nagas in Ukhrul that had erupted in February after an alleged assault involving members of the Tangkhul Naga and the Kuki-Zo communities escalated into clashes.Since the ethnic clashes broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities in May 2023, at least 260 persons have been killed and more than 59,000 persons displaced. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024 and 2025.Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.