A 17-year-old boy from the Naga community was killed Monday morning in what police believe was an ambush by suspected Kuki militants in Manipur’s Tamenglong district, amid rising tensions between the two communities.
The victim, NK Wiphenbou, was reportedly traveling alone from Upper Takou village to Tamei town to buy household essentials when he was attacked around 10:30 am. His body was later discovered along a narrow pathway by Naga village volunteers.
A senior police officer told TOI that a spot examination pointed to an ambush, with witness accounts and statements suggesting suspected Kuki militants were responsible, ruling out the possibility that the teen was caught in unrelated crossfire. Police sources indicated there had been no exchange of fire at the time of the killing, though accounts of exactly what happened vary.
Tamei constituency MLA Awangbow Newmai confirmed that Wiphenbou, a resident of Upper Takou village, was ambushed and killed while traveling toward Tamei to buy supplies for his family. Newmai condemned the killing in a social media post, calling it an act of cowardly, unjustifiable violence with no place in a civilized society.
Former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh also called for swift, decisive action to hold those responsible accountable. He described the killing of the young student as deeply painful, questioning how much longer the state can keep losing innocent lives to ongoing violence, and asking who might be next.
The incident reflects a broadening of unrest beyond the Kuki-Meitei conflict that has gripped Manipur since ethnic violence broke out in May 2023. In the past ten days alone, five Kuki villagers have reportedly been killed in separate attacks linked to suspected Naga militants, adding to tensions in the state’s hill districts. Homes have also been set ablaze in both Naga and Kuki areas, with Kangpokpi, Tamenglong, and Noney among the hardest-hit districts.
Separately, a 24-hour shutdown called for Monday in protest of the 1949 Manipur Merger Agreement drew a mixed response statewide. Organized by the banned National Revolutionary Front Manipur (NRFM), the strike disrupted daily life across the Valley districts, with markets, businesses, and schools shut in several areas. Imphal saw sparse traffic amid a heavy security presence, and inter-state transport was affected, though emergency and healthcare services were kept exempt.
The shutdown came two days after the arrest of an active NRFM member, 39-year-old Namoijam Boboi Mangang, near the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal West district.
