Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Imphal: The Football Players Association Kangpokpi (FPAK) has denounced a smear campaign targeting an injured professional athlete. The group labeled reports identifying footballer Paogoulal Chongloi as a militant following the June 15 attack in Leilon Munlui village as a malicious and fabricated effort to criminalize a civilian victim.
The identity of the 18-year-old footballer, Paogoulal Chongloi (associated with the Mohun Bagan youth setup), who was among the three Kuki youths injured in a gunfight in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, is a subject of intense dispute between rival communities.
Kukis playing football with Assault Rifles such as AK47 in Kangpokpi in 2025-26.
The association emphasized his background, noting he has a professional contract with Mohun Bagan Super Giant through 2027 and a history of training at academies including RoundGlass Punjab FC and Minerva Football Academy. The FPAK stated, "Labelling a professional footballer as a 'militant' is not merely false, it is a direct assault on truth, justice and the dignity of sport."
Beyond the false accusations, the association reported that the victims faced attempts to disrupt their emergency medical care at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal. Those injured, including a student and an internally displaced person, were eventually moved to Churachandpur to continue their recovery.
The FPAK is urging government and security agencies to stop the weaponization of false narratives against civilians. They are calling for an environment where medical treatment is protected from political interference and prejudice, allowing the victims to focus on their healing process.
The Naga and the Meitei CSOs, on the otherhand, alleged that the three injured individuals were militants who had launched an armed attack near Konsakhul (a Naga village). This belief led to large-scale, tense protests outside the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal, where crowds demanded that the injured youths not be treated at the facility, forcing security forces to use tear gas and later move the patients under heavy security.
The 3 injured Kuki militants at RIMS Hospital in Imphal
As per reports, the Lailon Vaiphai villagers were involved in abduction of the 6 Nagas at Lailon Vaiphai village who were eventually murdered by mutilating their bodies alive, drowning, and by beheading. And as alleged, their body parts were cooked and forced fed to the abducted wives and relatives of the 6 Nagas. The wives and women were later released by kukis in exchange for the counter abducted kukis.
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