Manipur: CoTU Slams MLAs Silence After Fresh Arson Attack

The organisation alleged that militants linked to the NSCN (IM) and the ZUF Kamson faction were behind the latest attacks and urged immediate intervention by the Centre and the Manipur government.

BY PC Bureau

July 16, 2026: Silence of the MLAs Speaks Louder Than Flames: Fifth Kuki Village Torched in Manipur as Local BJP MLA Remains MuteBy Grok News Desk | July 16, 2026NUNGBA, TAMENGLONG – While Lengluong and Teikhang villages lay smouldering in ruins, the elected representatives who swore to protect them chose deafening silence.

On July 15, 2026, at around 3:00 pm, a mob of “unsatiable blood-thirsty, warmongering” NSCN (Muivah-led) militants and their allies from the Kamson faction of the Zeliangrong United Front razed two Kuki-Zo villages to the ground in Nungba sub-division. This was not an isolated incident — it was the fifth such arson attack on Kuki-Zo habitations in the same area in just two weeks.Yet the man whose constituency was burning — incumbent BJP MLA Shri Dinganglung Gangmei (Dipu Gangmei) — has uttered not a single word of condemnation, not a single assurance to his terrified voters.In a scathing condemnation issued today, the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) pulled no punches:

“Their silence speaks volume on the incidents, and a failure to uphold their constitutional oath as Members of Legislative Assembly… His silence reflects his complicity nor can he absolve himself from being accountable to the incident.”

READ: Doctors Warns of Organ Damage as Wangchuk’s Fast Enters 19th Day

COTU further slammed the former bureaucrat-turned-MLA, stating it was “ironic” that a public representative in whose constituency armed terrorists were tearing down homes could not even show basic civility to stop the carnage.Pattern of Targeted TerrorAggression against Kuki-Zo communities continues unabated across Tamenglong, Kamjong, and Ukhrul districts.

According to COTU, the latest attack was carried out by Kacha Tangkhul secessionist armed terrorists and the ZUF Kamson Group — groups the committee has labelled as radical and dangerous.The statement warns that these secessionist outfits are systematically destroying Kuki-Zo villages while elected leaders and authorities turn a blind eye.

“The Committee would like to remind the public representatives of the concerned constituencies of Tamenglong, Kamjong and Ukhrul, that they are accountable for the social and economic welfare of each and every community residing within the constituency regardless of their caste, creed or religious affiliations.”

Urgent Call to the Centre and StateCOTU has demanded immediate action from both the Government of India and the Manipur state government, calling for all secessionist and transnational ideological groups — state or non-state — to be firmly reined in.

“All secessionist or transnationalist ideological groups… including political or intellectual groups need to be restrained or clamped down if democracy is to survive in India.”

As yet another Kuki-Zo village lies in ashes, the silence from the Nungba MLA and other local representatives is not just disappointing — it is damning. While homes burn and lives are shattered, those elected to serve have chosen to remain mute spectators.The people of Manipur deserve answers. How many more villages must be reduced to cinders before the silence finally breaks?