A man from Manipur’s Meitei community was abducted from his home and later shot dead in the Kuki-majority district of Churachandpur, police said Thursday,
marking a fresh escalation in the state’s long-running ethnic conflict. The victim, Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh, was taken from the Tuibong area on Wednesday evening and killed near Natjang village, a senior police officer said. The abductors are suspected to be members of the United Kuki National Army, which is not part of the Suspension of Operations agreement signed between the Indian government, the Manipur administration and several Kuki-Zo militant groups. Singh, a resident of Kakching Khunou village in Kakching district, was married to a Kuki woman from Churachandpur. He had adopted a tribal name, Ginminthang, and had returned from Nepal on January 19, local sources told PTI. Some local groups had allowed him to stay with his wife, they added. Singh’s father told reporters that his son had been staying at his wife’s home and had not informed his family of his movements. He said Singh was abducted by three armed men and that his wife was also taken but later pushed out of a moving vehicle. Police said the couple was taken toward Natjang in the Henglep police station area, where Singh was allegedly shot. His wife was released later. The body was recovered and brought to the district hospital morgue early Thursday. A video clip circulating on social media appeared to show Singh pleading for his life moments before he was shot. Police said a case has been registered and efforts are underway to arrest those responsible.
The killing triggered protests in Kakching district, where demonstrators burned tires, blocked roads and staged sit-ins. Smaller protests were also reported in parts of Imphal East district.
Manipur has remained deeply divided since ethnic violence erupted in May 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki communities. More than 260 people have been killed and thousands displaced, with members of the two groups largely avoiding each other’s areas.
Condemning the killing, Manipur BJP president Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi said violence had no place in society and appealed for unity and adherence to the rule of law.
A Joint Action Committee formed after the killing demanded immediate arrests and sought a federal investigation into the case. Civil society groups warned of wider protests if their demands are not met.
