KOHUR has called for impartial justice in Manipur, urging authorities to allow the NIA to investigate the ambush killings without political interference and to ensure accountability for all perpetrators.
BY PC Bureau
June 25, 2026 — The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), a UN Special Consultative Status organisation since 2016, has welcomed the Manipur government’s decision to transfer the investigation into the ambush killing of three Kuki-Zo Church leaders to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). At the same time, it has condemned in the strongest terms the state Home Minister’s public efforts to prevent further arrests of members of the Arambai Tenggol militia.
In a press release issued on June 24, 2026, KOHUR described the slain leaders as “men of God who had given their lives to peace and reconciliation.” Among them was Rev. V. Sitlhou, who had recently led a peace mission with the Nagaland Joint Christian Forum in Kohima to build understanding between Kuki-Zo and Tangkhul communities. The three were gunned down in cold blood between Kotlen and Kotzim villages in Kangpokpi district.
KOHUR expressed full confidence in the NIA’s professionalism and impartiality, demanding the swift identification, arrest, and prosecution of all perpetrators and conspirators so that the grieving families receive complete justice without further delay.
Criticism of Home Minister
The organisation expressed shock and outrage at the conduct of Manipur Home Minister Shri Govindas Konthoujam. According to the press release, the Minister publicly stated that he had held discussions with the Director General of Police (DGP) to ensure “no further arrests” of Arambai Tenggol members and that efforts were underway to avoid further crackdowns on the outfit after the NIA arrested some of its cadres.
KOHUR called this a “public confession of complicity” and said it was unacceptable for the state’s own Home Minister to work to halt lawful arrests of an armed group.
READ: Manipur: No Pardon for Killers, Rapists: Kuki-Zo Women Forum
KOHUR welcomes transferring the Kuki Church leaders ambush case to the NIA but condemns the Manipur Home Minister’s move to shield Arambai Tenggol and the State’s discriminatory persecution of the Kuki-Zo people@PIBHomeAffairs @NIA_India @IndiaTodayNE @the_hindu @UN_HRC pic.twitter.com/iuPbydj66B
— JangnoiPa (@stphngou) June 25, 2026
Accusations Against Arambai Tenggol
KOHUR described Arambai Tenggol not as a civil society body but as a “heavily armed Meitei militia” that allegedly engaged in mass killings, rapes, looting, and arson during the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur. The press release listed several serious allegations:
- Killing and lynching of Kuki-Zo civilians and burning of Kuki-Zo villages and properties.
- Involvement in the brutal May 4, 2023, assault on late BJP MLA Shri Vungzagin Valte from Thanlon, who was attacked immediately after attending a security meeting at the Chief Minister’s office. He suffered grievous injuries and partial paralysis and succumbed to his injuries in February 2026. No special inquiry was reportedly instituted despite his appeal to the Prime Minister.
- Sexual violence against Kuki-Zo women, with Amnesty International documenting at least 32 incidents of gender-based violence attributed to its members since May 2023, including the parading and assault of women on May 4, 2023, with no prosecutions.
- Destruction of more than 200 churches as part of a broader campaign against Christians.
- Looting of arms and ammunition from state police armouries (as per a Human Rights Watch 2025 report).
- Summoning 37 MLAs and two MPs (including a Union Minister of State) to Kangla Fort on January 24, 2024, where they were allegedly compelled to take an illegal oath under the watch of the group’s own personnel.
- Physical assault on elected MLAs (including ruling party members) and police personnel.
Alleged Discriminatory Treatment of the Kuki-Zo Community
KOHUR contrasted the alleged protection given to Arambai Tenggol cadres with the treatment of Kuki-Zo people. It claimed that in cases involving the killing of Meitei persons, more than 50 innocent Kuki-Zo civilians, including leaders of civil society organisations, were arbitrarily arrested and held in jail for over two years. Even after securing bail from the Gauhati High Court, many reportedly faced fresh FIRs and were placed under the National Security Act (NSA) to keep them in custody.
The organisation called this “selective persecution along ethnic lines” that violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India and basic human rights principles.
Demands
KOHUR demanded that the state government:
- Immediately withdraw and disown the Home Minister’s call to halt arrests of Arambai Tenggol members.
- Ensure that no executive interference obstructs the NIA, police, or any agency from acting against any person or organisation accused of a crime, irrespective of community.
- Stop the practice of re-arresting bailed Kuki-Zo detainees through fresh FIRs and successive NSA detentions, and release those wrongfully held.
- Apply a single, equal standard of justice to every community in Manipur.
“Justice that is selective is not justice at all,” the press release stated. “Peace cannot be built upon the protection of perpetrators and the persecution of the innocent, and the Kuki-Zo people will not accept it.”
