Meitei man shot dead in Kuki-majority Churachandpur amid renewed tensions in Manipur

PTI,  IMPHAL/CHURACHANDPUR, JAN 22, 2026: A man belonging to the Meitei community was shot dead after being abducted by suspected Kuki militants in Churachandpur district, in a fresh escalation of the tensions in restive Manipur, police said on Thursday.

Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh was abducted from his home in the Tuibong area on Wednesday and shot dead in the vicinity of Natjang village, a senior officer said.

The kidnappers are suspected to be members of the United Kuki National Army (UNKA), a non-signatory to the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement.

The SoO pact was signed between the Centre, the Manipur government and dozens of Kuki-Zo militant groups.

Singh, who hailed from Kakching Khunou in Kakching district, was married to Chingnu Haokip of Churachandpur and assumed a tribal name, Ginminthang.

He returned to Churachandpur from Nepal on January 19, according to local sources.

He was allowed to stay with his wife, a Kuki, by some local groups, they said.

The deceased’s father, Mayanglambam Tombi Singh, told reporters, “After arriving from Nepal, he had been staying in Churachandpur for a few weeks at his wife’s place. He never informed us of his whereabouts. We have been told that he was abducted by three armed men on Wednesday evening. His wife was also taken with him, but was later pushed out from a moving vehicle.”

Protests erupted in Kakching district on Thursday as people in Kakching Khunou Lamkhai area burnt tyres on roads, stopped vehicles and staged a sit-in against the killing of the Meitei man.

Demonstrations were also held in parts of Wangkhei in Imphal East district, condemning the killing.

Kukis and Meiteis do not venture into each other’s areas after the violence broke out in May 2023, leaving the state deeply divided on ethnic lines.

Over 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in the hostilities.

The militants abducted both the man and his wife, and took them towards Natjang in the Henglep police station area, where he was suspected to be shot dead, the officer said.

The wife was later set free, he said.

A purported video clip of the incident went viral on social media, showing Singh begging for his life with folded hands before he was shot by the armed men.

The body recovered from Natjang village was brought to the morgue of the district hospital around 1.30 am, the police said.

NDTV in its news report stated that Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh reportedly had permission from the Kuki National Organisation and its Tuibong district headquarters to see his wife.

The report adds that with folded hands, 28‑year‑old Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh kept begging for his life. Moments later, insurgents used an AK series assault rifle and shot him point blank.

It also states that the insurgents have released a video of the killing of the Meitei man, with the text overlay on it: "no peace, no popular government".

The video has no sound. It is night at what appears to be a clearing on a hillside. The man is on his knees with his hands folded. The darkness is punctured by the muzzle flash of the assault rifle as they shot him.

The incident happened in Manipur's Churachandpur district, 65 km from the state capital Imphal. His wife, C Haokip, is from the Kuki community. Singh, a resident of Kakching Khunou in the valley, worked in Nepal and had returned home on leave. His wife took permission from the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and its Tuibong district headquarters to allow Singh to see her for a few days, sources have said.

The KNO denied giving any such permission.

"It is hereby categorically clarified that neither did the organisation have any knowledge of the visit of Mayanglambam nor was it involved in the incident. The organisation further clarifies that under no circumstances is any spouse of our people from any other community ever subjected to such activity," the KNO, an umbrella body of Kuki insurgent groups under the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement, said in a statement this morning.

The United Kuki National Army (UKNA), which is not part of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement, has also denied any involvement, local sources said.

The SoO agreement broadly says the insurgents are to stay at designated camps and weapons are to be kept in locked storage.

The insurgents' objective seems to be to provoke the public on ethnic lines and start another round of violence, especially at a time when government formation talks are going on, sources said. Manipur will complete one year under the President's Rule in February.

The police said they found the body in a village in Churachandpur district and brought it to a local hospital at 1.30 am.

Kukis and Meiteis have not gone into each other's areas after ethnic violence broke out in May 2023, the NDTV in its news report states.