Agencies suspect Kuki body behind Meitei man’s murder in Manipur

A Meitei man, identified as Mayanglambam, was on Wednesday abducted along with his wife, Chingnu Haokip, from Nathjang village in Kuki-dominated Churachandpur by unidentified militants. While the wife was let go after some time, the man was shot dead.

While no organisation has taken responsibility, sources in the security establishment suspect it to be the handiwork of operatives belonging to United Kuki National Army (UKNA). It is, however, not yet clear whether the killing was carried out on the orders of UKNA leadership or it was a decision taken by the cadres on their own.

“It is also possible that the killing has been carried out as a contract. There are elements on either side of the ethnic divide in the state that do not want a popular government to be formed. UKNA cadres may be just the medium with someone else calling the shots,” another officer said.

UKNA operates as a non-signatory to Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreements, unlike other Kuki groups under truces since 2008. It has around 450 cadres armed with over 300 sophisticated weapons, maintaining camps in Manipur’s hills and Myanmar. The group emerged amid ethnic tensions, focusing on Kuki tribal interests without formal political wings like some counterparts.

Sources said the suspicion of a larger conspiracy is also informed by the fact that the victim, said to be originally from Meitei-dominated Kakching Khunou area in the state, had been staying in the village since December 19 and everyone was aware of the mixed ethnicity of the couple.

Sources said Mayanglambam got married to Haokip in 2022, before the ethnic violence started in the state. The couple was subsequently disowned by their respective families. Leaving his wife behind, Mayanglambam then went to Nepal to earn a livelihood. He came back this December after taking due permission from the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), the key SoO group which is in talks with the government and one which virtually controls the affairs in the hills.

While Haokip’s brother is also said to be part of the KNO, sources ruled out honour killing or execution inspired by ethnic hatred. “There are more than 100 such couples living in Churachandpur… living with full knowledge of society there. The couple got married in 2022. A lot of time has passed by since. The woman’s parents also do not live here, but in Guwahati,” an officer said.

The killing comes on the back of a sudden spurt of violence in the state following reports of attempts by the Centre to form a popular government in Manipur.

On January 5, an IED exploded inside an abandoned house in Saiton Ngaukon village under Phougakchao Ikhai police station in Bishnupur district. As a mob gathered at the site, another bomb went off, injuring two people. Sources in the security establishment have ruled out the involvement of Kuki groups in the incident.

On January 8, a grenade was hurled at a fuel station, following which police apprehended two members of the Meitei insurgent group KYKL.

These incidents have come in addition to the political hurdles that the Centre is facing in the formation of a popular government.

On the hills, Kuki groups have dug in their heels over their demand for separate administration. At a meeting of Kuki-Zo insurgent groups and MLAs from the community held in Guwahati on Tuesday, participants resolved that participation in a new popular government would require the Centre to give a written “political commitment” on a separate Union Territory for Kuki-Zo-majority areas. They underlined that the demand “must be finalised and signed before the expiration of the normal tenure of the current Legislative Assembly”, which ends in 2027.

This hardline position has put the Centre in a bind. Forming a government without Kuki MLAs would deprive it of legitimacy, but committing to separate administration materialising before the polls is also not considered feasible.

In the Valley, the BJP does not have its house in order with multiple factions within the party. Sources said there is a faction within the state unit that is not in favour of government formation since its leader does not see himself becoming the CM. Among the rest, there are more than one claimants to the CM’s post, they said.