2 Kuki Village Volunteers Killed in Pre-Dawn Attack in Manipur's Kuki Village; Rights Body Seeks NIA Probe, CAPF Deployment

At least two village volunteers were killed and several civilians, including women and children, injured after suspected Tangkhul armed militants launched a pre-dawn attack on Kuki villages Mullam and Shongphal in Manipur’s Ukhrul district on Friday, a rights body said.

According to the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), the assault took place around 5:30 am when armed attackers allegedly targeted the villages while residents were asleep, setting fire to houses and opening fire indiscriminately.

Two houses were torched in the attack, while multiple villagers sustained injuries. The condition of the injured was not immediately known.

KOHUR alleged that two Kuki village volunteers on duty were “brutally killed” during the assault while attempting to defend the locality. It further claimed that villagers, using licensed hunting weapons, retaliated and managed to repel the attackers, and one assailant was “neutralised”.

Describing the incident as “premeditated” and part of a “continuing pattern of aggression”, KOHUR said the attack marked a serious escalation and constituted a violation of basic human rights.

The organisation demanded immediate registration of an FIR and a time-bound probe, identification and arrest of those involved, and strict action under relevant criminal and anti-terror laws.

It also called for urgent deployment of Central Armed Police Forces in vulnerable villages along the Kuki-Naga periphery to prevent further violence.

KOHUR sought ex-gratia compensation and medical support for the injured, and recognition and compensation for the families of the two slain volunteers. It also demanded reconstruction of the houses destroyed in the arson attack and rehabilitation of affected families.

The rights body further urged the Manipur government, the Centre, and Tangkhul civil bodies to issue an unequivocal condemnation of the incident and take steps to prevent recurrence.

It further demanded an end to the culture of impunity allegedly enjoyed by armed groups operating under communal and ethnic banners in Manipur.

Appealing to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), national and international human rights organisations, civil society, and the media to take urgent cognisance of the attack and the alleged sustained targeting of Kuki-Zo indigenous people in the state, KOHUR said that “silence in the face of such repeated atrocities is untenable” and called for swift and visible justice.

KOHUR said it stands in solidarity with the bereaved families, the injured, and the villagers of Mullam and Shongphal, and paid tribute to the two village volunteers who lost their lives while defending their community.