IMPHAL, Jan 19: Rajasthan school sports contingent which had come to participate in the 69th national school games in Manipur has claimed of extortion by armed Kuki groups while on their way to the state capital.
In a widely circulated video clip, father of player said “while coming from Rajasthan, the team were kept detained for 2 hours at gun point by Kuki militants and took money from the team.”
52 Rajasthan contingent including girls had arrived in the state to take part in the Wushu event held from January 14 to January 18.
Meanwhile, responding to the allegations, Manipur government officials
has denied receiving any form of complaint from the team during their stay in the state.
Officials said “no grievances were brought to the notice of the department while the team was in Manipur. The control room is few metres away from the hostel where they were staying at Khuman Lampak stadium. If they had raised the matter during their stay here, it could have been taken up immediately.”
Officials however said that despite the absence of a formal complaint, an enquiry is being conducted into the matter, and the police have been asked to verify the extortion claims.
“The Rajasthan team left Imphal early on Monday morning without informing the authorities” another official said.
“Without complaining the matter, they left Imphal today early morning. We came to know about the extortion claims through video clips being circulated on social media,” they said.
Manipur police has been informed to probe into the extortion allegations put by Rajasthan contingent team on the way from Dimapur to Imphal and to take up necessary legal actions, officials said.
The Rajasthan contingent, consisting of 52 players, participated in the national-level event and delivered an impressive performance with the girls’ team winning first place and the boys’ team securing second.
Manipur governor had inaugurated the 69th National School Games Championships 2025–26 at Khuman Lampak Main Stadium, Imphal last week.
(By Our Correspondent)
