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Manipur House proceedings: Naga MLAs abstain, seek action against deputy CM Kipgen
Naga People’s Front chief Awangbou Newmai said the bodies of the six Nagas remain at an Imphal hospital awaiting justice
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Nine Naga legislators abstained from Manipur assembly proceedings on Monday in protest against the killing of six Nagas in May and to press for action against deputy chief minister Nemcha Kipgen, calling her husband the prime accused. They include Losii Dikho, the ethnic-violence-hit state’s second deputy chief minister.
Nemcha Kipgen last week rejected Dikho’s allegations that she and her husband were involved in the Naga-Kuki clashes as unverified claims that could further damage inter-community trust.
Naga People’s Front chief Awangbou Newmai announced the abstention hours before the proceedings. He accused Thangboi Kipgen, the husband of deputy chief minister Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki, of being responsible for the killing of six Nagas.
Kuki militants abducted and killed the six Nagas after holding them captive for nearly a month in Kangpokpi on May 13. The killings followed a twin ambush on the same day, which killed four people, including three church leaders and one Naga.
Newmai said the bodies of the six remain at Imphal’s Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Science awaiting justice. “We will not participate in the House until the House suspends or removes Kipgen from her post. Her husband is the prime accused of abduction and killing of six Nagas.”
The National Investigating Agency arrested four people after taking over the probe into the killings. The Naga groups have been demanding arrest of all the accused involved in the killing of the six and the abrogation of the ceasefire pact with Kuki militants.
On August 31, the nine Naga legislators submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding immediate arrest of Kuki-Zo leaders, who have claimed responsibility for the killing and dismemberment of the six Nagas, including Thangboi Kipgen. Self-styled Gen ‘Tiger’ Kipgen cadres are alleged to have killed and mutilated the bodies of the six Nagas.
Naga and Kuki-Zo tensions escalated after May 13 twin ambushes. On the same day, Kuki-Zo and Naga groups captured 48 people. On May 15, 14 captives each from the two communities were released. The remaining 14 Kuki-Zo hostages were freed unharmed on June 9. Mutilated bodies of the six Nagas were found the next day.
The ethnic violence in Manipur first began in 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki communities before involving almost every community. The state’s Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities have shut each other out of the areas they dominate.
A new government was formed in February, nearly a year after the imposition of President’s Rule. It includes representatives from all three major communities as part of an attempt to maintain balance. But sporadic violence has continued and left 306 people dead and 49 missing since May 2023.
