Violence in Bishnupur District Days After Former CM Biren’s Visit; Two Minors Killed, 3 Die in CRPF Firing

Two minors were killed in a bomb attack at their home in Tronglaobi Awang Leikai in Bishnupur district on Tuesday early morning.

According to reports, the incident occurred around 1:05 am when the two children were sleeping with their mother. Their mother, who sustained injuries in the attack, is admitted to a private hospital in Imphal and is in the ICU.

Following the incident, protesters reportedly burned down a CRPF vehicle in the Gelmol area. CRPF personnel opened fire, during which three protesters died, leaving several others injured. Protesters also torched two oil tankers and a truck heading for Churachandpur district. The incident triggered widespread protests in different parts of the valley districts. Many, including media houses, claimed that the attack was carried out by suspected Kuki militant groups.

However, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) has firmly rejected the allegations against the Kuki-Zo community in connection with the incident.

ITLF stated that such claims are baseless and unsupported by any credible evidence, emphasizing that any untoward incident affecting the Meitei community should not be automatically attributed to the Kuki-Zo people without proper investigation.

ITLF stated that such assumptions only fuel misunderstanding and tension, adding that the buffer zones between Kuki-Zo and Meitei areas are heavily guarded by security forces, making it virtually impossible for Kuki-Zo individuals to cross undetected to carry out any form of attack or plant explosive devices in Meitei localities.

Moreover, the nearest Kuki village to Tronglaobi, Gelmol, is abandoned and currently occupied by CRPF personnel, further disproving these allegations, ITLF stated in a release.

ITLF urged authorities and the public to rely on verified facts and avoid blaming the Kuki-Zo community for every incident involving the Meiteis.

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) strongly condemned the tragic bomb attack and unequivocally denounced such inhumane violence.

The Kuki-Zo body also condemned the subsequent burning of three petroleum trucks at the Moirang Oil Pump Station.

Stating that the supplies were meant for the people of Churachandpur, who have no connection whatsoever to the incident, KZC said that targeting essential goods and livelihoods is unjustifiable and only deepens public suffering.

KZC rejected the baseless allegations being circulated against the Kuki-Zo community.

With buffer zones strictly guarded by security forces, it is highly implausible for any Kuki-Zo individual to infiltrate and carry out such an attack within the interior of Meitei localities, the Kuki-Zo body added, condemning the reckless attempt to tarnish the Kuki-Zo community's name without any evidence.

KZC stated that Kuki-Zo people have never condoned violence against women and children; such acts are contrary to the values and traditions of the Kuki-Zo community.

While reiterating its strong condemnation of the killing of innocent children, KZC added that the Kuki-Zo have no intention of disturbing Meitei habitations, but concerns arise only when buffer zones are breached.

KZC claimed that the incidents appear to be a calculated attempt to reignite ethnic tensions in Manipur.

The Kuki-Zo body urged the media and all responsible citizens to exercise restraint, verify facts, and not fall prey to misinformation or divisive narratives.

The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) also issued a release expressing its profound grief and deepest condolences to the families of the two Meitei minor children.

“KOHUR unequivocally condemns this heinous act of violence and stands firmly with all innocent victims of the ongoing conflict in Manipur, irrespective of community or ethnicity,” the release added.

However, KOHUR strongly and categorically condemned the reckless and irresponsible conduct of certain Meitei political figures and media houses who have, without a shred of evidence, directly accused the Kuki-Zo community of responsibility for this tragic incident.

“Such inflammatory rhetoric, issued without any substantiation, is not only a gross miscarriage of public trust but also a deliberate attempt to inflame communal tensions at a critically sensitive time,” KOHUR added.

KOHUR went on to state that the bomb blast incident occurred within Meitei habitation areas, where access by the Kuki-Zo community is, under the prevailing ground realities, virtually impossible.

The buffer zone between the two communities is currently under heavy and sustained deployment of central security forces, which maintain strict vigilance over all movement across the divide.

Any alleged involvement of the Kuki-Zo community in an incident of this nature, occurring deep within Meitei habitation, is therefore not only unsubstantiated but physically and logistically improbable. To suggest otherwise is to propagate deliberate falsehoods, KOHUR added.

KOHUR appealed for the immediate handover of the investigation into the bomb blast to a central investigating agency, specifically the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to ensure an impartial, credible, and transparent investigation free from political interference or communal bias.

KOHUR urged the media, civil society, and political leaders to uphold their moral and professional responsibilities by basing their statements on verified facts rather than conjecture, particularly during this period of heightened communal sensitivity.

Manipur’s Chief Minister, political parties, and various civil society organisations also condemned the incident.

Ironically, the incident in Tronglaobi occurred a day after the visit of former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh to Bishnupur district on Monday. The former CM attended the foundation day celebration of the Meitei Society Churachandpur at INA Hall in Moirang.

Since the onset of violence in Manipur, a pattern of recurring unrest has been observed whenever the leaked audio clip case involving former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh resurfaces in the media. On April 6, the Supreme Court expressed frustration over the inability of central forensic laboratories to authenticate the audio clips allegedly implicating him in the state's ethnic violence. It has asked the Union Government to explore whether Singh could visit the National Forensic Science University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, to provide a voice sample.