Kangpokpi: Violence reported from Manipur’s Koutruk on 1 September was “not unprovoked”, but rather retaliation for an ambush laid by the armed Meitei group Arambai Tenggol to target Kukis travelling on the highway connecting Kangpokpi and Churachandpur, representatives of the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) said to ThePrint.
It was in response to this purported ambush that Kuki defence volunteers fired shots, forcing the armed Meitei group to retreat, they claimed.
An umbrella body that represents several Kuki groups, CoTU further claimed drones allegedly used to drop bombs in the area were operated by Arambai Tenggol and Valley Based Insurgent Groups (VBIGs), who “accidentally dropped (bombs) in their own area”.
Kukis, they insisted, do not have such sophisticated weaponry and only use small drones for surveillance purposes.
The alleged drone bombing in Koutruk, Imphal West, on 1 September has sparked a war of claims and counterclaims between Kukis and Meiteis. To add to that, official versions of the incident differ depending on who you ask. Manipur police claim drones were used to drop bombs—a mix of crude as well as factory-made, although not very lethal—while security forces maintain there is no evidence to support claims of a drone bombing.
Koutruk village stands on the border of Meitei-dominated Imphal West and Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi.
According to police sources, drones flying in from the hills allegedly dropped over 50 bombs on 1 September before Koutruk came under fire, followed by an arson attack. The alleged bombing, sources said, went on for more than three hours as the drones made sorties.
Sources in the security establishment, however, said there was “a lot of hype” around the alleged incident. One source said drones have been used in the past too. “They were used by Meiteis to drop bombs in December. Local Kukis do not have those resources. Even if they use drones, they can only drop a few of them, not 50, as is being claimed.”
Asked about CoTU’s claim, a second source in the security establishment said, “The story doesn’t seem believable. No one was injured on their (Kuki) side. If it was a crossfire, people would have been injured on their side too. Moreover, only a few bombs can drop accidentally. Not 40-50. It’s a theory, so one cannot say much. It’s a matter of investigation. We have written to hand over this case to NIA, they will probe the matter.”
Thangtinlen Haokip, information secretary of CoTU, said when clashes first erupted on 3 May last year, most people on the hills could not even tell what a drone was.
They used ‘pumpi guns’, indigenous guns and catapults for their defence. But when they saw Meiteis using drones for surveillance, they felt the need to upgrade. “We realised that drones are important and the need of the hour. So we started crowdfunding to procure some of those by the end of July and August,” he told ThePrint.
“We then took training from photographers and videographers on how to use them since no one had any idea of how to use it,” he said.
Haokip maintained Kukis were only using drones for surveillance.
If Kukis had the technology to bomb areas using drones, why would they limit their attacks to the fringes and not go all the way to the valley, he remarked. “If we had this technology, why would we limit our operation to the fringes? If we had the capacity, we would do something big, rather than just dropping bombs in a small area. We really wish we had that funding, that support from international forces, as is being alleged.”
However, Col Shanti Kumar Sapam (retd), spokesperson of the Meitei Heritage Society claims “Kuki propaganda group is indulging in cheap lies” to cover up their act of terror against the Meitei civilians.
“Are they even suggesting that the Meitei groups kept bombing our own villagers in Koutruk for three hours accidentally? These attacks also happened the next day in Senjam Chirang, so did Meitei village volunteers again started the accidental drone bombing?” he said to ThePrint.
“It is a bizarre argument. It is evident that the Kuki groups have been completely rattled by the irrefutable evidence and global condemnation of terror act of drone bombing and missile attack against Meitei civilians. This organisation and other so-called Kuki CSOs must accept the bitter truth that their victim card while being the perpetrators has been long exposed. These are silly and futile attempts to deflect attention from the terror act.” he added.
“Almost all military and Geopolitics experts have unanimously concluded that the drone bombings have been carried out with the help of anti-India foreign forces. Hence, we demand the Indian government for a thorough investigation into the source of the drone bombs and missiles used by Kuki militants. The perpetrators of these heinous acts must be brought to justice and not distracted by such poor diversionary tactics.”
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‘Woman killed in Koutruk was collateral damage’
On the events of 1 September, Haokip claimed Kukis had intel that Arambai Tenggol fighters were in Nakhujang, a non-inhabited Kuki village which was razed to the ground in the early days of the violence, trying to lay an ambush. They planned to attack Kuki commutters along the Kangpokpi-Lamka road, he alleged.
“We need to ensure the safety of our own people and on 1 September we sent our volunteers to Nakhujang, to sanitise the place. When our volunteers reached there, they found members of Arambai Tenggol and members of the VBIGs. The moment they saw our people, they opened fire and that is when we retaliated,” Haokip told ThePrint.
He said their volunteers chased down members of the Arambai Tenggol and VBIGs to Koutruk village while firing at them, with some volunteers armed with pumpi guns giving cover from surrounding hills. “Our people were firing at them and at that time the bullet unfortunately hit that woman who was killed in Koutruk. We do not attack women and children but this was collateral and we feel sad about it,” he said.
He alleged that Meiteis then started to use drones to bomb Kuki villages on the other side but accidentally dropped bombs in their own territory.
According to Haokip, Arambai Tenggol chief Korounganba Khuman himself posted a message on Facebook saying: “fire will rain down today.” Though Haokip shared what he claimed were screenshots of the post by Khuman, ThePrint could not independently verify that the Arambai Tenggol chief made such a threat in a Facebook post.
“They were not ours but the drones that Meiteis have, they wanted to attack our villages and instead dropped the payload in their own area only by accident,” claimed Haokip.
Quoting another purported social media post, Haokip said Arambai Tenggol members admitted to having dropped bombs in their own territory by mistake. “They’re the ones with the capacity to load bombs onto drones they use to spray fertilisers. Those can be used to fire many bombs at once as many can be loaded. We don’t have that wherewithal. We have these small drones that can never be used to drop so many bombs.”
“The claim of over 50 bombs is laughable,” he added.
Haokip also said that the first known drone bombing in the ongoing ethnic conflict was carried out by Arambai Tenggol at G Songgel village, Churachandpur district, on 16 December 2023. “Then the Arambai Tenggol also used drones to drop bombs in the Sugnu area a month or so later. Arambai Tenggol and Manipur state armed forces also used military-issued mortars. They are the ones who started it first, how can the police say it never happened before? That’s why we say, we don’t trust the state or its police,” he said.
Use of ‘rocket bombs’ (pumpi guns)
Besides drones, now allegedly capable of dropping bombs, another significant security challenge in Manipur today is the use of “rocket bombs”, which though crude, are potent, weigh around 24 kg and have a range of 8-10 km. This type of weaponry is a significant upgrade over the previously used pumpi gun which lacked range.
One such rocket landed in the valley town of Moirang in Bishnupur on 6 September, killing a 70-year-old man. Another landed in a paddy field in the area on 24 August but did not explode.
Sources in the Manipur police said that in the past two weeks, five such rockets have been recovered from different areas.
When asked about the use of these rockets, Haokip said the Kukis never denied having made them, but were not the first to use them. He alleged more advanced rockets were fired at a Kuki village, next to a camp in Songtun, Kangpokpi, on 2 September.
“The rocket-like thing you saw in Moirang is what we made after what Meiteis fired at us in Songtun village. Why would we not make it then? We need to be safe, we need our families safe,” he said.
On the use of newer pumpi guns, he said, “Yes, we have made these advanced pumpis, and we will not deny it. We learnt how to make pumpis from our forefathers, and we keep upgrading them till we are under threat.” He explained that Kukis have three types of pumpi guns. The first is basic, made using a water pipe, with a range of 10-30 m. It is tied to a tree. When fired multiple times, it implodes and injures the person operating it.
An upgraded version is what the Kukis created in October-November last year. This had better material, screws and longer range. This, he claimed, was done after the VBIGs started using rocket-propelled grenades.
“The VBIGs have state support. So they have more resources, money and sophisticated weapons that were handed over to them by the police. In such circumstances we had no choice but to upgrade with whatever expertise and material we had,” Haokip said.
The next upgrade, the rocket used in Moirang, came in December-January, when the Kukis through their “intelligence channels” found out about Arambai Tenggol having rockets affixed behind their vehicles. “That’s when we had to upgrade our weapons even more, so we made this advanced pumpi (gun) which weighs around 25-30 kg and now has a flying range of up to 15 km,” he said.
This latest upgrade involves a roughly nine-foot long iron pipe, including a two-foot tip at the front laden with explosives, iron nails, bolts or splinters. The pipe has six fins at the tail to stabilise its flight. One part contains solid fuel, which burns to give the rocket flight.
Haokip added that Kukis have bombs, but only crude. “We never denied having bombs, but they are all crude. That is our preparation to defend ourselves. We do not have any factory-made bombs, where will we get them from?”
Speaking to ThePrint, the first source in the security establishment quoted earlier said as far as rockets being used in Manipur are concerned, they are all unguided weapons. “These are fire-and-forget, just to create nuisance. They (Kukis) have these pumpi guns, but we doubt they have such a huge arsenal, unless hidden very well.”
‘Before drones, we need to buy sacks of rice’
Speaking to ThePrint, CoTU spokesperson Lun Kipgen claimed Kukis do not have the money to spend on weapons. Commenting on the police version of what happened in Koutruk on 1 September, he said any information stemming from the state is “biassed”.
“For us, this is not a legitimate state. Whatever they say or do is biassed.”
Kipgen added, “In Kuki areas there is no healthcare, no relief, no support from the state as they only care about Meiteis. First we need to take care of the basic needs of people. Before drones, we need to buy sacks of rice.”
He said the only way to end the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur is for the state government to concede to Kukis’ demand for a “separate administration” for hill areas.
“We cannot afford to fight the Indian government, plus we are all extremely patriotic and were mostly in government jobs, but after this we have been left behind. We need a separate administration as we can no longer be part of a state biassed towards the tribe.”
Kipgen added that Biren Singh should have acted like the chief minister of a state, not a particular community. “All the state’s resources, relief, support is only for one community—the Meiteis, who are in majority. What about us? If he really thought that he was CM of the state of Manipur, he would have treated all communities alike. Right now we have been left to fend for ourselves while the entire state machinery is with the Meiteis,” he said.
He also lamented the state of relief camps in hill areas, saying they are in bad shape, with no medical facilities or food.
“Just a small example, the woman killed in Koutruk was given compensation of ₹10 lakh, but the Kuki woman killed in Thangbuh village attack on 8 September has not been given anything. Should rules not be the same for all? This is what pushed us away. Why would we want to be in a state that doesn’t care about us, see us as their own?”
Kipgen went on to add that, contrary to claims by the Biren Singh-led BJP government, no talks were held between Kuki and Meitei groups in recent months. “For the last six-seven months, no talks have happened. No one wants to talk to either side. Till Biren is CM, nothing will move.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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