Three deaths in two days have heightened tensions in Manipur’s hill districts, where Naga–Kuki-Zo hostilities continue to threaten civilian safety. The Kuki CSO Working Committee–Ukhrul has called an indefinite shutdown on NH-202 as allegations over the killings and the role of armed groups remain unverified.
BY PC Bureau
October 10, 2026: Fresh violence in Manipur’s hill districts has claimed at least two lives in separate incidents, including the alleged ambush killing of a Gorkhali farmer in the Senapati area and the death of a 22-year-old man during an attack on Chassad village in Kamjong district. The violence followed the fatal shooting of a Kuki woman in Chassad on Friday night, prompting the Working Committee of Kuki Civil Society Organisations–Ukhrul (WCKCSOs-Ukhrul) to announce an indefinite total shutdown along National Highway 202 from Saturday morning.
Sandeep Rai, 40, a Gorkhali farmer from Senapati who cultivated leased farmland at Chepu Yaolen, was allegedly ambushed around 6 am on October 10 while travelling to his farm in a red Maruti Alto (registration number WB 24K 3992). He was using the Mahadev–Toloi–Pfutsero (MTP) Inter-Village Road, above Shaila Khuti, when the attack occurred in the forest cultivation area of Chepu Yaolen.
Rai’s body had not been recovered at the time of the announcement, and the injuries that caused his death had yet to be established. The chief of Chepu Yaolen was reportedly the first to alert the police.
The killing came hours after Domkhonei Touthang, wife of Lallenmang Touthang of Chassad village and a mother of five, died from bullet injuries on Friday night. She was reportedly shot between 8.30 pm and 10 pm on October 9 amid tensions surrounding the alleged arrest and detention of Chassad village volunteers.
Kuki-Zo groups have alleged that personnel of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) shot her during a protest. Other accounts have linked the incident to an exchange of fire amid a security operation targeting alleged illegal bunkers. The circumstances surrounding her death remain contested.
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In another incident, Michael Ngamminlen Haokip, 22, son of Paothang Haokip of Chassad, was killed during an attack allegedly carried out by NSCN (IM) cadres. According to the civil society organisation’s statement, firing and the burning of houses began around 4.30 am on October 10.
The succession of violent incidents has deepened fear and insecurity among residents, with the deaths leaving families struggling to cope with their losses amid continuing tensions and threats to civilian safety.
Condemning the developments as a grave humanitarian crisis, the KUKI CSO WORKING COMMITTEE-Ukhrul accused the state and central governments of failing to protect civilian lives. It announced an indefinite total shutdown on National Highway 202, effective from 11 am on October 10, until further notice. The organisation said responsibility for the consequences of the shutdown lay with those whose actions, it alleged, had made ordinary civilian life unsafe.
The latest violence comes against the backdrop of persistent ethnic tensions in Manipur’s hill districts, particularly between Naga and Kuki-Zo groups. The region has witnessed previous incidents involving civilian deaths, arson and allegations of armed-group involvement.
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