A man from Manipur’s Meitei community was taken from his home and shot dead in Churachandpur, a district where Kukis form the majority. Police said this happened Wednesday night, and honestly, it’s just made tensions in the state even worse.
The man’s name was Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh. He lived in Kakching Khunou village but had married a Kuki woman from Churachandpur.
Manipur: Tensions Rise After Meitei Man Abducted
People say he used a tribal name, Ginminthang, and only just came back from Nepal on January 19. Local groups had apparently let him stay with his wife, so he was at her place when it all happened.
Singh’s father told reporters his son hadn’t been in touch about his whereabouts. On Wednesday evening, January 21, three armed men showed up, took Singh and his wife, and drove off.
Meitei Man Shot Dead, UKNA Suspected
At some point, they threw his wife out of the vehicle, but she survived. Police said the kidnappers were probably from the United Kuki National Army, a group that never signed the ceasefire agreement the government has with other Kuki-Zo groups.
The couple ended up near Natjang village, in the Henglep area. That’s where the kidnappers shot Singh. His body turned up at the district hospital morgue early Thursday, January 22.
Video gets leaked on WhatsApp, tragedy caught on camera
A video is going around online showing Singh begging for his life just before he was shot. Police have registered a case and say they’re trying to catch the killers.
News of the murder spread fast. In Kakching district, people poured into the streets, burned tyres, blocked roads, and staged sit-ins. There were smaller protests in parts of Imphal East too.
What is happening in Manipur?
Manipur’s been on edge since May 2023, when fighting broke out between the Meitei and Kuki communities. Over 260 people have died. Thousands have fled their homes, and now, most people just stay in their own areas.
Manipur BJP president Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi condemned the killing and called for peace, saying violence has no place in society.
A Joint Action Committee formed after the murder is demanding immediate arrests and a federal probe. Civil society groups warned the protests would only grow if there was no action.
