A Meitei man visiting his Kuki-Zo wife’s home in Kuki-Zo-majority Churachandpur district of Manipur was allegedly kidnapped with her and killed by armed assailants on Wednesday evening.
A video that appears to show a man pleading with folded hands was circulated widely on Thursday, triggering fresh tensions, protests and questions about the security situation in the strife-hit state.
While the pleading man cannot be heard, the voice of a woman in distress, and that of another man, can be heard in the background. Reports from Imphal said the wife had been thrown out of the vehicle before the husband was murdered.
An official told The Telegraph that a group of three or four armed people had abducted the childless couple from the wife’s home in Tuibong, Churachandpur.
The husband was killed in the T. Natjang area, a 25 to 30-minute drive away in the same district, police said.
“The killing took place around 7.30pm. He died of bullet injuries. We recovered the body around 10.30pm(on Wednesday),” the official said.
He said the victim had been “living at his wife’s place since December 19 after returning from Nepal where, we have heard, he was working undera contractor”.
The official said the identities of the assailants remained unclear but an investigation was on.
Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh, the victim, was from the adjoining Meitei-majority district of Kakching and was aged 31, sources said. His wife has been identified asChingnu Haokip.
Rishikanta’s family and local people held a protestat Khunou Bazar in Kakching and blocked the Imphal-Sugnu road.
Late on Thursday, the Manipur government handed over the probe to the NIA.
The conflict between Meiteis and Kuki-Zos that erupted on May 3, 2023, has left over 260 people dead and 60,000 displaced and made it dangerous for members of these communities to visit eachother’s areas.
For mixed Meitei-Kuki-Zo couples and families, this means that living together, or even visiting each other, remains fraught with risk.
Reports said Haokip had sought permission from Kuki-Zo organisations for her husband’s visit.
Some reports claimed that members of the United Kuki National Army (UKNA), a militant group that is not part of the Suspension of Operations agreement with the state and central governments, were involved in the killing.
The official who spoke to this newspaper said these claims “were a matter of investigation”.
The security forces have since last month stepped up operations against the UKNA in Churachandpur.
The killing comes amid BJP efforts to restore the elected government in the state, which the party used to head. Manipur is under President’s rule, which expires onFebruary 13.
Condemnation
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, a leading Meitei organisation, has condemned the murder and questioned the central forces’ inability to contain militant activities despite a massivedeployment.
Another Imphal Valley-based organisation, the Meitei Heritage Society (MHS), has expressed shock at the “cold-blooded execution of a Meitei civilian” and pointed a finger at the UKNA.
“A native of Kakching Khunou, he (Rishikanta) was working in Nepal and came to meet his wife, who belongs to the Chin Kuki tribe,” theMHS said.
“Reports say they had taken permission from Kuki National Organization, the Kuki militant group which is under the suspension of operation with the IndianGovernment.”
The KNO has, however, denied any knowledge of the visit and asserted it had no role in the incident.