Missing head, a 48-hour deadline: Manipur races to avert fresh Kuki-Naga tension

Amid the ongoing Kuki-Naga clashes, Ajinpou Ringkangmai, 52, was shot dead in Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district allegedly by Kuki militants.

The body is in a mortuary in Imphal.

The killing has triggered outrage among Naga groups, for whom the removal of the victim’s head is not only a brutal act but also a humiliation to his community. (Sourced)

The severed head is somewhere in the jungles of Kangpokpi.

And in between, a 48-hour ultimatum from Naga groups has put Manipur on the edge.

Security forces, including army personnel, are combing the forests for the head of a Naga man allegedly killed by Kuki militants, as the 48-hour deadline nears its end. The Naga groups have warned of consequences if the remains are not returned.

The deadline ends at 7 pm on Wednesday, and Manipur is once again on high alert.

Amid the ongoing Kuki-Naga clashes, Ajinpou Ringkangmai, 52, was allegedly shot dead by Kuki militants in Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district, who later severed his head and took it away. The killing has triggered outrage among Naga groups, for whom the removal of the victim’s head is not only a brutal act but also a humiliation to his community.

The Naga groups have refused to allow government authorities to conduct a post-mortem examination until the severed head is found. They have given the government 48 hours, according to a letter to the chief minister on Monday evening.

Through Tuesday, security forces and Manipur police officers combed the jungles of Kangpokpi.

“Our teams searched the forest using drones and other equipment. This will continue at first light tomorrow(Wednesday). This is being monitored at the highest level in Imphal. In the past, during Meitei-Kuki clashes, there were some cases of people being beheaded, but taking the head as a trophy was uncalled for. These things happened 100 years ago. It is unimaginable now, but there is also a video of the crime and the body in the mortuary without its head. The situation could get worse from now on,” a senior government officer, who asked not to be named, said.

The gunfight

The deceased, Ajinpou Ringkangmai, a father of four, lived with his wife in the village of Makui 1. According to relatives, his four children are studying in Pune, while he and his wife were cultivators. Theirs was an ordinary life in a northeastern part of India, now disrupted by the ethnic violence.

There are four Makui villages numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Kangpokpi, with at least 234 Naga houses. Sometime last month, amid the Kuki-Naga clashes, the houses in Makai 2, 3, and 4 were burnt by militants. The Naga residents have since fled the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district and shifted to Senapati district, where the Nagas form the majority. Kuki residents have also shifted to Kangpokpi after their houses were burnt. Burning homes and forcing people to flee have been recurring features of Manipur’s ethnic violence since May 2023—first in clashes between the Meiteis and Kukis, and now between the Nagas and Kukis. The violence has displaced more than 60,000 people.

“All villagers from the 2,3 and 4 Makui villages are now settled in relief camps as internally displaced people because their houses were burnt by Kuki militants last month. On October 9, Ajinpou, along with 12-15 other villagers, went to Makui 2 village to check on it and guard it against locals who could ransack what was left or burn the houses further. In Manipur, we are all working as village defence volunteers to protect our fatherland. Ajinpiou and others were doing just that,” Ajinpou’s cousin, Disubou Wijunamai, said, detailing the sequence of events.

At around 7 am, while the villagers were guarding the village, eyewitnesses reported spotting drones above Makui village, according to Naga leaders.

“Within minutes, they came under fire. They also fired back to defend the village. The survivors told us that there were around 50-60 armed militants who rained fire that ultimately led to the death of our 4 Naga brothers, and left two injured. The militants fled on seeing that other Naga volunteers were also rushing to Makui 2 with reinforcements,” Wijunamai said, adding that the Naga villagers later found the bodies of four men on the village ground.

The Naga villagers later found the bodies of four men on the village ground, he added.

While the head of one man, Dibambou, was smashed and deformed, Ajinpou was lying on the ground with his head severed. The villagers searched for it but could not find it.

That afternoon, around 3 pm, an 11-second video showing Ajinpou’s severed head lying on what appeared to be an ice box in a jungle went viral in WhatsApp groups used by Manipur residents. That was the last time anyone is known to have seen the man’s head.

Timothy Wijunamai, president of the Liangmai Naga Council and co-convener of the Joint Tribes Council, who signed the letter to the chief minister, said the groups would wait for the search to conclude before deciding their next course of action. Wijunamai said the Ajinbou's body is at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal. “We have told everyone that there will be no action from our side until tomorrow afternoon. Until then, let them find the severed head of our brother. Today security forces conducted combing operations and told us that they were unable to find it yet. They have time till tomorrow. We will decide and announce our next course of action if they are unable to recover the head.”

The Naga-Kuki divide

Over the last five days, at least 9 people have been killed in the Naga-Kuki clashes. The violence threatens not only peace on the ground but also the carefully balanced political arrangement involving Manipur’s three main communities.

When President’s Rule was lifted in Manipur earlier this year, the BJP ensured representation from the three main communities: a Meitei chief minister and two deputy chief ministers from Kuki and Naga communities. Eight months later, the two deputy CMs are not on speaking terms.

In fact, during the assembly session last month, Naga MLAs boycotted the proceedings, refusing to share space with Deputy CM Nemcha Kipgen. On September 1, Naga deputy CM Losii Dikho and 8 other Naga MLAs wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah seeking action against Kipgen and her husband, alleging they were colluding with Kuki militant groups and hampering the peace process.

In an interview with HT last month, Kipgen denied the allegations and said she had also worked to resolve the tension between the communities.

A Naga MLA, who asked not to be named, said the ultimatum issued by Naga groups alleged that the killings were orchestrated by Kuki militant groups under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement, whose leadership includes the deputy chief minister’s husband.

The SoO agreement is a pact between the Centre, the state government and militant groups to suspend violence and counter-insurgency operations while negotiations continue. Cadres receive monthly remuneration and are housed in government-monitored camps while talks are underway.

The agreement is renewed periodically. The arrangement is in abeyance, as it has not been renewed since September 5, 2026.

“Everyone knows that the people behind the killings are from SoO militant groups. It is due to these killings that the Centre has not renewed the SoO Pact. These militants have been violating the peace pact. They chopped a man’s head, treated it like a trophy and even recorded videos. They took the fight to another level. The situation could get worse if security forces do not find the body and also if the government renews the SoO pact for another year with these militants,” the legislator said.

A push from Delhi

At the offices of Kartavya Bhawan 3 in New Delhi—the home ministry headquarters, over 2,000 km from Manipur—top officials have approved deploying at least 30 additional CAPF companies to Manipur. They are also likely to send another batch of COBRA Commandos, a force trained in guerrilla warfare that has achieved success against Maoists. This is in addition to around 270 companies already posted in the state. Each company has a sanctioned strength of 120-130 personnel, of whom around 75-80 are generally deployed. Altogether, Manipur will soon have over 35,000 personnel from central forces alone. The additional deployment was approved against the backdrop of the ongoing and fresh violence in the state.

Many officers in the security establishment said the latest crime is reminiscent of the time when tribes practised headhunting – killing an enemy, severing their head, and keeping or displaying it as a trophy, proof of success or symbols. One Manipur-based senior officer, who asked not to be named, said, “Both are warrior tribes who have fought wars to defend their land and people. Both have weapons. One is well-trained and disciplined. The other is fearless and equally skilled in combat. I won’t tell you which is which. Their fight will be bloody. ”

In Manipur and Delhi, top officials are closely tracking the developments as searches continue.

But the severed head remains missing.