The Sampadak Express News Desk
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a Kuki villager in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, as a 48-hour strike protesting an earlier killing of three Meitei men shut schools and businesses across the Imphal Valley. The developments were reported by The Hindu.
Locals said the victim, 44-year-old Paolenmung Thangneo of P. Muolding village, had gone into a nearby forest around 7 a.m. to collect bamboo shoots with another villager, Laldenga, when they came under fire. Thangneo succumbed to his injuries at the scene, while Laldenga escaped unhurt, according to residents.
The P. Muolding Village Authority blamed the attack on the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) and the Zeliangrong United Front (Kamsong). No armed outfit had claimed responsibility as of Tuesday evening.
In response, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), a Kuki organisation, announced a 24-hour “total shutdown” in Kangpokpi district from Tuesday midnight, saying it aimed to express collective anguish and press for justice, accountability, protection for Kuki-Zo people and concrete action to address their suffering.
Meanwhile, educational institutions, shops and other commercial establishments remained closed across the five districts of the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley under a 48-hour strike called by the Native People Committee Manipur from Monday midnight. The strike was called to protest the killing of three Meitei civilians who, according to reports, were collecting firewood in a jungle along the border of Kangpokpi and Imphal East districts when they were attacked.
Protesters in parts of the valley blocked roads and burned effigies of Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen and Home Minister Konthoujam Govindas. Demonstrators held the government responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation and demanded the resignation of the three leaders.
Amid the unrest, the Chief Minister met leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc, led by former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, to review the State’s security situation. Opposition leaders expressed deep concern over the recurring civilian killings and urged the government to convene an all-party meeting in view of the crisis. The Chief Minister assured them he would examine the request. “We also had a constructive discussion on maintaining peace and collective efforts for the restoration of normalcy in the State,” he said.
Okram Ibobi Singh criticised the BJP-led State government over continuing violence and questioned its moral authority to stay in office. He also faulted the Union government’s response, saying, “It is deplorable that the Centre has chosen to remain a silent spectator despite its ability to rein in the armed groups,” he told journalists.
The latest spike in violence in Manipur began on October 9 with the killing of a Kuki woman near the India–Myanmar border in Kamjong district. Eight more people were killed over the next 24 hours across Kamjong, Ukhrul and Kangpokpi districts, with unofficial accounts putting the toll at 10.
The CoTU shutdown in Kangpokpi is scheduled to commence from Tuesday midnight, while the valley-wide strike called by the Native People Committee Manipur continues.
