A day earlier, in a separate incident, three Kuki men were killed in a reported exchange of gunfire between two unidentified armed groups at Kekru Naga village in the state’s Noney district. Clashes erupted in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Sunday following the recovery of the bodies of two Kuki men who went missing from Taphou Kuki village on October 28.
Multiple search operations were launched following the youths’ disappearance, according to the Manipur Police Control Room. Official sources subsequently confirmed that the deceased were the two missing men. In Noney, police confirmed that three men were killed in the gunfire exchange at Kekru Naga village under Nungba Police Station, approximately eight kilometres from the police station.
The operation resulted in the recovery of two bodies from the area. As protests intensified, the police shifted the bodies to the SP’s office in Kangpokpi, where angry demonstrators continued their agitation. Security personnel fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the protesting crowds amid mounting tensions. The circumstances leading to the deaths and the identities of those responsible remain under investigation. The identities of those involved in the exchange and the circumstances that led to the incident remain unclear. The victims were identified as Thanglensang Singson, Thangkhosei Haokip and Lamminsang Kipgen. However, the specific developments that preceded the gunfire exchange and what triggered the violence remain unclear. The allegations against NSCN-IM and ZUF(K) have not been independently verified, and police have not identified those responsible.
On Sunday, an extensive operation was conducted in the area east of National Highway-2 along the SP Road by teams of Manipur Police, the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Assam Rifles and the Rapid Action Force (RAF).
Police said the necessary legal formalities and other procedures were underway, and that extensive search and combing operations would continue to identify and apprehend those responsible. Local sources said tensions had been building in the surrounding areas for several days before Saturday’s fatal incident.
