Manipur Deputy CM Losii Dikho alleges Kuki militant group linked to fellow Deputy CM’s husband was involved in Naga killings

Dikho alleges Kipgen’s husband heads a militant group.

PTI, Oct 29, 2026, Imphal: Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho on Wednesday said he had “no doubt” that a Kuki militant group headed by fellow Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen’s husband was involved in the killings of Naga community men earlier this year, and she should either step down or use her influence to stop the violence.

Dikho, who cited conversations with people released from captivity as the basis for his allegation, also claimed that the Centre’s representatives and “political agencies” were reaching out to the state’s Naga legislators to “bring about an understanding” over their demand for action against Nemcha Kipgen.

Her husband, Thangboi Kipgen, heads the Kuki National Front (President), or KNF(P), which is among the outfits covered by the tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement involving the Centre, the Manipur Government and Kuki armed groups.

The abduction and killing of six Naga men during a hostage crisis involving the Nagas and Kukis in May–June this year in Kangpokpi and Senapati, which sharply escalated tensions between the communities, is being probed by the National Investigation Agency. Nemcha Kipgen has previously denied allegations of collusion with militants.

While Senapati is predominantly Naga, Kangpokpi is Kuki-Zo-dominated, with several pockets of Naga concentration. The divide is sharp, with on-ground tensions inevitably reaching the highest levels of state governance.

Holding the KNF(P) responsible for violence in Kangpokpi district, Dikho said, “She (Nemcha Kipgen) should say, ‘I am the Deputy CM of the state. Why should my husband’s organisation be fighting and killing people?’”

“She should step down. If she does not want to leave her position, she should immediately tell her husband’s organisation to stop fighting and killing Nagas,” Dikho, a three-term Naga People’s Front MLA from Mao in Senapati district, added.

Dikho’s allegations have exposed the rift between the two Deputy Chief Ministers appointed when the BJP-led government headed by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh took office in February. Dikho is a Naga, Kipgen a Kuki and Khemchand a Meitei. Their appointments reflected the desire to strike an ethnic balance in the strife-torn north-eastern state.

His Naga People’s Front is a partner in the BJP-led Manipur government, leads the government with the BJP as an ally in Nagaland and is an NDA constituent.

Dikho and Manipur’s seven other Naga MLAs out of nine wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah in late August, seeking action against Nemcha Kipgen, the arrest of Kuki militant leaders allegedly involved in attacks on Nagas, and the abrogation of the SoO agreement.