Latest news with #Kukis
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Will Provide Security To Farmers In Vulnerable Areas: Manipur Government
Imphal: A day after a farmer was shot at in Manipur's Bishnupur district, the state government on Friday announced to provide security to the farmers in the vulnerable areas, officials said. A senior police official said that adequate security would be provided to ensure the safety of farmers in the fields and prevent incidents involving the farmers. A woman was killed and a farmer shot at in separate incidents in Manipur's Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts, respectively, on Thursday. The official said Ningthoujam Biren Singh, a farmer from Phubala Awang Maning Leikai, was shot in his left arm by an unknown armed miscreant while working in his paddy field at Phubala Maning in Bishnupur district. Mr Singh, who belonged to the Meitei community, was initially taken to the district hospital in Bishnupur for medical treatment and was later referred to the Regional Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) in Imphal. His condition is reported to be stable at present. In response, security forces launched a search operation in and around Langchingmanbi, Heichanglok, and the western areas of Phubala village. During the operation, security forces came under fire from unknown armed attackers and the forces retaliated accordingly. During the crossfire, a woman identified as Hoikholhing Haokip from Langchingmanbi village was found dead with a bullet injury. She was from the Kuki tribes and was the wife of the village chief of Langchingmanbi. A Manipur Police statement said cases have been filed in connection with the incidents, and an investigation is going on. Combined teams of security forces are continuing search operations to catch the perpetrators, the police said. The statement said every effort is being made to bring those responsible to justice at the earliest. Additionally, security arrangements related to farming activities in the area will be reviewed. The people are requested to maintain peace and not circulate unverified information, the police said. On June 15, tension erupted in Manipur's Imphal East district over a dispute related to the farming of a paddy field and land ownership. It was defused with the deployment of additional security forces in the area. A police officer had said that a farmer belonging to the Meitei community from Leitanpokpi area went with a tractor to plough a paddy field in Sadu Lampak village in Imphal East, near a Kuki-inhabited village. "Some Kuki villagers nearby came and objected, claiming that the paddy field does not belong to the Meitei farmer. In the meantime, some people of the Meitei community, who were nearby, also came to the spot. Videos were circulated saying Kukis have come down to stop Meitei farmers," the officer had said. An officer of the agriculture department said that as the agricultural season nears its peak, unresolved land access disputes and the lack of effective protection for farmers continue to deepen ethnic divide and fuel unrest in conflict-affected areas of Manipur. The current kharif (monsoon) season runs from June to October. Due to the ethnic violence in Manipur, farming activities have been affected in both Imphal valley and hilly areas during the past more than two years. In another development, the security forces arrested eight insurgents including a woman belonging to banned outfits in Manipur during the past 24 hours from Imphal West, Tengnoupal, Kakching and Bishnupur districts. Of the eight, two were members of the banned Peoples' Liberation Army.
Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Manipur: Indefinite bandh in Churachandpur district following woman's death
Imphal: Normal life in Manipur's Churachandpur district was brought to a standstill after an indefinite shutdown called by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a Kuki-Zo body. The shutdown comes in wake of the death of Hoikholhing, a woman from the Kuki community, who was allegedly killed during a crossfire between security forces and armed militants. Hoikholhing, said to be the wife of the village chief of Langchingmanbi in Churachandpur, succumbed to a bullet injury during an exchange of fire. The incident occurred while security forces were conducting a search operation in response to an earlier shooting incident in which Ningthoujam Biren, a 60-year-old farmer from Phubala Awang Maning Leikai, was shot in the left arm by unidentified armed assailants on Thursday. Also Read: Elderly Kuki woman killed in cross firing between security forces, armed men in Manipur Condemning the incident, six Kuki civil society organisations have expressed solidarity with the ITLF and extended support to the indefinite shutdown. Churachandpur town wore a deserted look on Friday, with roads blocked by the bandh supporters, particularly the Tiddim Road (NH-150 connecting Imphal and Mizoram via Churachandpur). Educational institutions, markets, and both government and private offices remained closed. However, essential services, including pharmacies and medical facilities, were exempted from the shutdown. In a statement issued on Friday, the Kuki Inpi Youth Affairs, a youth wing of a Kuki organisation, alleged that 'Hoikholhing was shot dead in a crossfire between security forces and armed militants inside her village.' Over 250 people have been killed after ethnic clashes broke out between the Meiteis, who live in the valley, and Kukis, who dominate the surrounding hills, in May 2023.
Indian Express
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Govt-Kuki talks heading towards free movement deal in Manipur
Government negotiations with Kuki militant groups under the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement with New Delhi are inching towards an agreement on allowing free movement of people and goods across Manipur — a crucial step towards re-establishing peace and normalcy in the strife-torn state, The Indian Express has learnt. Since the onset of ethnic violence in May 2023, Meiteis and Kukis have been geographically separated with the former confined to the Imphal Valley and the latter retreating to the hill areas. During the two-year-long violence, areas dominated by one community had become no-go zones for the other. Movement of goods, too, had been difficult. Following the imposition of President's Rule this February, free movement was among the first key announcements made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who set a deadline for March 8. However, opposition from Kuki groups and firing on a state transport bus plying from the Valley to the hills in Kangpokpi put the initiative on the backburner. According to sources, free movement in the state has been among the primary goals of the Centre, and a breakthrough may be achieved soon. 'The matter is under discussion with SoO groups. We are hopeful it (an agreement) will be achieved soon. The concerns of all sides are being addressed and SoO groups have indicated they are not entirely opposed to the idea. This will be a major breakthrough in re-establishing normalcy in the state. It is absolutely essential that people from the Valley are able to pass through the hills and those from the hills can come to the Imphal Valley,' a Home Ministry official said. Sources pointed to a conducive atmosphere for an agreement with a dip in violence since the imposition of President's Rule. The aggression displayed by groups on either side of the divide has mellowed, they said. An official pointed to the appeal by a Meitei group for safe passage to be provided to relatives of a Kuki who was among two women from Manipur killed in the Air India crash in Ahmedabad. Besides, the official said, Kukis did not disrupt the movement of Meitei civilians through their areas during the recent Shirui Lily festival. Sources said there has been a positive response from SoO groups during negotiations on pushing back their camps from the Valley's fringes — a longstanding demand of Meiteis. While many of the 14 SoO group camps are stationed in the interiors of the hill areas, some are located near the Valley. Meitei groups have alleged that these camps have been used to launch attacks in the Valley, a charge denied by Kukis. 'Various modalities are being discussed currently. One is shifting them back. The other is clubbing some smaller camps and bringing them together in a large camp,' a Ministry official said. Government sources said they do not expect opposition from Meitei groups on free movement since they were among those who 'suffered the most' after movement across the hills was restricted. 'For instance, today, a Meitei civilian can only fly out of Manipur since all roads across the hills are out of bounds. This has also disrupted the flow of goods into the Valley. When the Home Minister announced a deadline of March 8 for resuming free movement, Meitei groups had announced a march to the hills. This was seen as provocative by the Kukis at the time, leading to gunfire on the state transport bus in Kangpokpi, bringing the initiative to a halt,' they said. The Government, meanwhile, is also erecting camps for UNLF, one of the oldest militant groups in the Valley, following the peace deal sealed in November 2023. Sources said the Government is also preparing ID cards for UNLF cadres who will stay in these camps. 'The process is nearing completion and very soon they will be in the camps. This was part of the Government's efforts to gradually re-establish peace in the state and begin the process of talks with groups on either side of the divide,' sources said.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Singson's mortal remains taken to Kangpokpi through Kohima
Guwahati: The mortal remains of the 26-year-old Kuki girl from Manipur, Lamnunthem Singson, a cabin crew member of the ill-fated Air India Ahmedabad-London flight, arrived at Nagaland's Dimapur airport on Thursday. People from both the Naga and Kuki-Zo communities from both states paid their last respects to her before her body was taken to Kangpokpi through Kohima, detouring Meitei-inhabited areas of Manipur. A cavalcade of 10 vehicles arrived from Manipur's Kangpokpi district after travelling almost seven hours to receive the mortal remains of Singson, which arrived at Dimapur Airport at 1.30pm on Thursday. Singson's internally displaced family, which belongs to the Kuki-Zo community, decided not to take her body to their rented house in Kangpokpi town through Imphal due to the ongoing conflict between Kukis and Meiteis. Tears rolled down the faces of her relatives and members of Kuki-Zo organisations after the coffin was taken out from the flight at Dimapur Airport. Her body was flown from Ahmedabad via Guwahati to Dimapur airport by an Indigo flight, airport officials said. Members of Kuki Union Dimapur, Kuki Nute Kiloikhom Dimapur and Kuki Youth & Students' Union Dimapur, along with Naga leaders, were present at Dimapur Airport to receive the mortal remains of Singson. "Her body was then taken through NH2, where people paid their floral tributes to her during brief halts in Kohima, Senapati, and small Kuki-inhabited villages in Kangpokpi district. We took the responsibility to ensure that her body reaches their Kangpokpi home safely in her last journey," said Thangrijoy Baite, president of Kuki Students' Organisation, Sadar Hills district unit. Singson's brothers and some other family members accompanied the mortal remains from Ahmedabad. At their Kangpokpi home, a crowd was eagerly waiting for the arrival of Singson's body. Her funeral will take place in a public cemetery in Kangpokpi town on Friday. Singson and her internally displaced family fled from their home in Old Lambulane colony in Imphal to Kangpokpi soon after ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur in May 2023. Though the state govt and leading civil society organisation COCOMI assured safe passage to take Singson's mortal remains through Imphal Airport, the family decided to skip Imphal, which was deserted by Kukis after the ethnic clashes broke out. The travel time from Kangpokpi to Imphal is around two-and-a half-hour by road, but Singson's family and Kuki organisations took a much longer route from Dimapur via Nagaland capital Kohima to reach Kangpokpi after travelling about six hours late Thursday evening. Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma, another cabin crew member from the Meitei community of Manipur, was on the Air India flight that crashed minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad. Her family has been camping in Ahmedabad since June 13, but the DNA match is yet to be done as of Thursday afternoon, her sister Gitanjali Kongbrailatpam said. "Our wait is getting longer. There is no update on the DNA match," Gitanjali said.
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Woman killed in fresh Manipur violence
A Kuki woman was killed in Manipur's Churachandpur district on Thursday (June 19, 2025), a day after suspected extremists fired at and injured a Meitei farmer in the adjoining Bishnupur district. There were no official statements on either incident, but the Kuki Women's Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) blamed the death of Hoikholhing Haokip of Langchingmanbi village on Meitei militants. In the afternoon of June 18, a man identified as Ningthoujam Biren was injured after suspected Kuki extremists fired at farmers on the border between Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts. Eyewitnesses said Mr. Biren and two other farmers were working on a paddy field at Phubala in Bishnupur district when five rounds were fired at them from a hillock in the adjoining Churachandpur district. 'He was taken to the district hospital after a bullet struck his left forearm,' a villager said. The Phubala villagers slammed the government for failing to ensure the security of the farmers working close to the vulnerable 'buffer zone', which separates the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley from the surrounding hills where the Kuki-Zos are in the majority. After the incident, angry Bishnupur locals blocked a highway leading to Churachandpur, demanding action against armed Kuki fighters. A women's group threatened a total shutdown across the Imphal Valley from Friday (June 20, 2025) if top State government officials did not visit the affected area. In a statement, the KWOHR condemned the killing of Ms. Haokip allegedly by Meitei militants. 'Despite the presence of a government-declared buffer zone intended to prevent clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities, Meitei militants have repeatedly violated and crossed the buffer line, provoking tensions and directly endangering the lives of innocent civilians,' it said. The organisation demanded the immediate arrest and punishment of the perpetrators of the crime, strict enforcement of the buffer zone with equal accountability on both sides, deployment of neutral Central forces to ensure peace and a judicial inquiry into this incident as well as all recent buffer zone violations. This was the second incident involving farmers working on fields along the buffer zone. On June 15, a confrontation between Kuki and Meitei villagers on the border between Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts sparked tension. According to the Manipur police, the Kukis objected to Meitei farmers working on a paddy field they claimed as theirs. Shooting at farmers working on fields along the buffer zone used to be frequent after the ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo people broke out on May 3, 2023. Such incidents have not been reported after Manipur came under the President's Rule on February 13. The ethnic conflict left more than 250 people dead and some 60,000 others displaced.
