Two missing Kuki-Zo youths, identified as Tinginlun Chongloi, 21, and Paoginlal Hangshing, 20, were found dead in Kangpokpi district on Sunday, four days after their disappearance.
BY PC Bureau
November 1: The recovery of two bodies during a joint search operation in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Sunday has raised fresh alarm over the security situation in the state’s hill areas. The deceased were two Kuki-Zo youths who had gone missing from Taphou Kuki village on October 28. Their bodies were found four days after their disappearance triggered protests and a shutdown demanding their safe release.The recovery comes a day after three Kuki-Zo village volunteers were killed in a gunfight in neighbouring Noney district on Saturday, taking the number of Kuki-Zo fatalities in the two separate incidents to five within 24 hours.
The two missing youths were identified as Tinginlun Chongloi, 21, and Paoginlal Hangshing, 20. They were allegedly abducted by unidentified persons in the vicinity of Taphou Kuki village. Reports have placed the suspected abduction site between Hengbung and Taphou Kuki, or near the 9th Manipur Rifles/Maremei area.
A joint team comprising Manipur Police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Assam Rifles, the CoBRA unit and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) conducted an extensive search east of National Highway-2, along the SP Road, a hilly stretch connecting Senapati and Kangpokpi districts.
Multiple security teams had been deployed following the youths’ disappearance. Their bodies were eventually located during a combing operation in the area.
Following the incident of disappearance of two persons from Taphou Kuki village on 28th October 2026, multiple search operations were launched by joint teams of Manipur Police, CRPF and Assam Rifles.
In continuation of these operations, an extensive joint search operation was conducted today, i.e., 1 November 2026, by joint teams comprising Manipur Police, CoBRA, CRPF, Assam Rifles and RAF in the general area east of NH-2, along the SP Road.
During the course of the thorough search operation, the joint teams recovered two dead bodies from the area.
The necessary legal formalities and other procedures are being carried out by the Police.
Meanwhile, extensive search and combing operations will continue in the area with the objective of identifying and apprehending those responsible for the incident.
— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) November 1, 2026
Police said necessary legal formalities and identification procedures were being undertaken. Security forces indicated that search operations would continue to trace and apprehend those responsible.
Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen had earlier condemned the alleged abduction and urged the authorities to make every effort to trace and rescue the two youths.
The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) had also called a 48-hour shutdown in the area, demanding their safe release. Community members organised protests and rallies to press for immediate action.
READ: Three Kuki-Zo Village Guards Killed in Militant Attack in Noney
Three village volunteers killed in Noney gunfight
In a separate incident on Saturday, three Kuki-Zo men identified as village volunteers were killed in an exchange of gunfire between unidentified armed groups in Noney district.
The deceased were identified as Thanglensang Singson, Thangkhosei Haokip and Lamminsang Kipgen, all residents of villages in Churachandpur district. The gunfight occurred between 9 am and 10 am near Kekru Naga village under Nungba police station, or in the Tajeikaiphun area.
Sporadic firing between groups suspected to be linked to ZNaga and Kuki-o communities had reportedly been continuing in the area since October 29. Saturday’s confrontation was the first in three days to result in fatalities.
Security personnel recovered four automatic assault rifles, a single-barrel rifle, a drone, ammunition and improvised explosive devices from the area. Additional forces were deployed to prevent further escalation.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex Kuki-Zo organisation, condemned the killings as a “brutal and barbaric” and “unprovoked assault”. It said the three men had been performing village defence duties because of inadequate security arrangements in vulnerable Kuki-Zo settlements.
The killings took place on a day when a joint rally by Meitei and Naga organisations was held in Imphal. Participants demanded the abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki-Zo armed groups, protection for local communities, justice for victims of the ongoing conflict and the safe resettlement of internally displaced persons.
Mounting security concerns
The two incidents have intensified concerns over civilian safety in Manipur’s hill districts, where the original ethnic conflict that erupted in May 2023 has created deep divisions and left thousands displaced.
While the conflict initially centred on the Meitei-Kuki-Zo divide, tensions between Kuki-Zo and Naga groups have also escalated during 2026, adding another volatile dimension to the state’s security crisis.
The recovery of the two missing youths’ bodies, followed by the killing of three village volunteers, has sharpened demands for impartial investigations and effective action against armed groups. The immediate challenge for the authorities is to establish the circumstances of the five deaths, identify those responsible and prevent further retaliatory violence.
