New Delhi: In a fresh bout of unrest in Manipur, a 19-year-old Naga youth was shot dead by suspected militants in Tamenglong district Monday morning, police sources said.
The Naga community has alleged that Kukis were behind the attack. The Kuki community has denied any involvement.
At least 27 people have been killed and over 100 houses torched in clashes between the Kuki-Zo and Nagas since the new BJP government led by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh took over on 4 February.
BJP leader and former Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh condemned the incident. “Today, it is 17-year-old NK Wiphenbou. Who will be next? The killing of this young student from Upper Takou village, while he was travelling to buy essential commodities, is deeply painful. Manipur cannot continue to lose innocent lives to this endless cycle of violence,” he wrote on X.
He further wrote: “Every such death leaves another family shattered and pushes our society further away from peace. The authorities must act decisively, establish accountability and bring those responsible to justice without delay.”
A senior police officer, not wanting to be named, told ThePrint that the incident took place at around 11.15 am. Police got to know that the Naga youth—identified as NK Wiphenbou, a resident of Nkou village—was killed at IT Road of Takou village, in Tamenglong district. An FIR has been registered.
The United Naga Council has condemned the killing “by the Kuki militants under the SoO pact”, calling it “an act of terror, barbarism of the highest order”.
The Council further expressed its “concern and outrage over the continuous killing, burning of houses, and relentless, premeditated firing attacks” upon Naga villages along the IT Road, Kangpokpi, carried out by “Kuki militants, KNF-P and its alliance forces under the SoO pact”.
“These are not isolated incidents but a systematic campaign of aggression, ethnic persecution, and scorched-earth violence aimed at terrorising, displacing, and annihilating the indigenous Naga populace,” it added.
The council further said that the government must answer for “patronising, shielding, and maintaining on its payroll these Kuki militant groups under the SoO pact while they orchestrate a series of crimes and atrocities with impunity”.
In a statement, the Kuki Youth Organization (KYO) said the “Kuki community has absolutely no involvement in the killing of the young boy from the Tangkhul/Liangmai community, whether at the individual, community, or organizational level”.
It added: “The allegations being circulated against the Kuki community are false and baseless. Reports from the ground have instead alleged the involvement of NSCN(IM) armed cadres in the killing. The Kuki community must not be blamed for an act it has no connection with. KYO strongly condemns any attempt to associate the Kuki community with this killing. The truth must prevail, and those responsible must be held accountable.”
Unrest continues in Manipur
Since a new government took over in Manipur this year, the ethnic clashes in the state have taken on a new shape and turn. The last incident (before Monday’s killing) occurred on September 15, when two Kuki women were shot dead by unidentified persons.
Yumnam Khemchand Singh became chief minister after a year of President’s Rule following the resignation of Biren Singh. After the formation of the new government, a fresh ethnic conflict began, between the Kuki-Zo and Nagas. The ethnic conflict that began in May 2023 was so far marked largely by violence between the Kuki-Zo and Meiteis.
The first incident of violence was reported in the Litan Sareikhong area of Manipur’s Ukhrul district, three days after the formation of the new government in the state. On 7 February, a group of Kuki-Zo people allegedly assaulted a Tangkhul man.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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