Suspected Kuki militants abduct Meitei-Kuki couple, kill husband in Manipur

Mayanglangbam Rishikanta, who was from Meitei-dominated Kakching district lived with his wife, Chingnu Haokip, in Kuki-majority Churachandpur.

Imphal: The cold-blooded execution, on camera, of Metei man, Mayanglangbam Rishikanta, allegedly by members of a banned Kuki group who abducted him, along with his Kuki fiancee Chingnu Haokip from Manipur’s Churachandpur late on Wednesday has reopened old wounds in the state and threatened to derail a nascent attempt to form a government in a region currently under President’s rule.

Police said a case has been registered for further investigation, and Rishikanta’s body was retrieved. (Representational Photo/PTI)

Rishikanta’s killing shattered months of relative calm in the state, where ethnic violence has left over 260 people dead and 60,000 displaced since May 2023.

Security officials said armed United Kuki National Army (UKNA) men abducted the couple from Churachandpur’s Tuibuong, took them to Natjang, and shot dead Rishikanta even as he pleaded with them to spare his life. The killing was captured on camera, and the clip circulated.

Haokip said she was thrown out of a vehicle before her husband was shot dead.

One of the officials added Haokip had sought permission from the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), a militant umbrella body, which has signed a cessation of hostilities pact with the government, to have her Meitei partner stay with her in Churachandpur.

KNO, in a statement, maintained that the couple did not seek any permission from it.

According to family members of the deceased, Rishikanta was working in Nepal. He was engaged to Haokip and the marriage was scheduled for May 2023, but cancelled after the ethnic conflict broke out in the state.

He came to Manipur on December 19 without informing his family, and was living secretly with Haokip in Churachandpur, according to a relative of the deceased.

The killing comes weeks before President’s rule in the state is due to expire on February 12. Manipur has been under President’s rule since February last year, when chief minister N Biren Singh’s government was dismissed as ethnic violence continued sporadically despite the deployment of thousands of security personnel. In recent weeks, there has been a revival of efforts to form a government ahead of the deadline.

After the killing, a video clip showing Rishikanta’s last moments went viral. In the video, Rishikanta, 38, can be seen pleading for his life with folded hands. But, it shows him being shot at point blank range. The video surfaced on social media with a caption: “No peace, No popular government”.

Meiteis live largely in the plains of the Imphal valley, and the Kukis in the hills. They withdrew to their respective strongholds after the violence began in 2023, initially over a high court order suggesting that the state government seek scheduled tribe status for the Meiteis.

Additionally, a joint action committee formed in connection with the killing of Rishikanta told media on the sideline of the protest at Kakching Khunou, Kakching district (where the victim comes from) that “we strongly condemn the killing of Rishikanta and demand the culprits must be booked”, The committee also sought that the case be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a Meitei body, also condemned the killing. Blaming central paramilitary forces and the current administration for the failure in law and order, the new convener of COCOMI, YK Dhiren, told media in Imphal that “if the central forces are not able to safeguard the public then they must go back”.

Another civil body, Meitei Heritage Welfare Foundation, added: “The abduction-and-execution method is a signature mode of terror employed by Chin-Kuki militant groups since the ethnic cleansing violence unleashed against the indigenous Meitei population on May 3, 2023, beginning with the afternoon attacks in Torbung, Churachandpur.”

Pointing a finger at the KNO, the foundation alleged that militant groups operate with impunity and are responsible for killing of several crimes, including the murder of Meitei students Hijam Linthoingambi and Philem Hemanjit and the Jiribam massacre in which six people, including a 10-month old infant, were killed.

Commandos and Assam Rifles last week destroyed UKNA camps in the jungles of Churachandpur as part of an ongoing anti-insurgency operation. The proscribed group, which is not part of the cessation of hostilities pact with the Centre, has camps within Manipur and also across the border in Myanmar.

UKNA has been involved in fuelling tensions in Manipur and preventing the restoration of normalcy. Officials said UKNA cadres have been involved in firing at houses of internally displaced people (IDP) who have been rehabilitated as part of the first phase of the government’s resettlement initiative.