Imphal: Press Statement
In pursuit of justice for the 6 innocent Nagas whose mutilated, dismembered, and decomposed mortal remains have shocked the conscience of the people and sparked widespread anger in Manipur, even as the 14 Kukis detainees were released safely by the Nagas, serious concerns emerge regarding the hideous manner in which the mortal remains were recovered and brought to Imphal by the authorities on 10 June 2026 without transparency, accountability, or dignity.
Naga people including the people of Manipur are aggrieved and enraged that while the mortal remains of the 6 innocent Nagas continue to lie in the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) mortuary waiting for justice, Kuki militants responsible for terrorizing Naga people and the heinous crimes of 13 May are given free passage, and free medical treatment at the VIP ward at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal under full security cover. The general public sees this act as partiality, affront to justice and fairness and an insult to the victims and their families.
The deafening silence of the government and its inaction to act against the perpetrators and terror handlers of the heinous crime of 13 May, despite the series of police complaints, has angered the Nagas and the people of Manipur that the government is actively shielding Kuki militants (SoO) as its proxy to target Naga civilians. The public sees the deployment of the Assam Rifles and the COBRA of the CRPF as a part of this proxy conflict engineered by the government.
We view this conflict as an extremely dangerous strategy, wherein, the state is allowing its policy to be mishandled by misguided leaders and self-proclaimed defence and security experts sitting in ivory towers.
Owing to this partisan policy and the resulting proxy conflict, many innocent people have lost their lives, many will continue to lose their lives and limbs and many more will get displaced in Manipur if this proxy conflict executed by misguided elements continues unabated. The Government of India and Government of Manipur are not helpless spectators, they can end this conflict as and when they choose to, by getting rid of the people mishandling the security of the country.
Towards securing peace and security in Manipur, and to provide justice to the 6 Naga martyrs and the Naga people, LUANGDIMAI SENTINEL strongly recommend that Government of Manipur and Government of India implement the following steps in addition to the demands of the United Naga Council and other organizations preferably within 15 days:
1) For justice and lasting peace in Manipur, we respectfully request that all Naga villages presently falling under Kangpokpi and Churachandpur districts must be returned to Noney, Tamenglong, Ukhrul, or Senapati districts, in accordance with the democratic wishes and aspirations of the people concerned. An inter-district boundary re-organization committee must be constituted for this purpose immediately. Why should this be treated as a priority?
Kangpokpi district is a stolen land. Stolen by the British from the Nagas in 1933. Renamed as SADAR Hills in the name of development, and given by the government of Manipur to the Kuki refugees from Myanmar in 2016 as a district in the name of administrative convenience despite opposition by the Nagas. Owing to this demographic invasion in Kangpokpi which began in the British times till date, Nagas in the district have been gradually outnumbered, displaced, and their voices suppressed. Nagas are also systematically suppressed by delimitation commission’s gerrymandering of Naga villages and electoral underrepresentation of Naga voters, thereby, rendering them as minority.
As a result of these historical injustices, Kangpokpi district has become the epicenter of all forms of unlawful activities and violence that threatens to spread to adjoining districts. Under a political system that favours Kuki majoritarian politics, Kangpokpi has become the main hub of illegal Kuki demographic invasion from Myanmar, proliferation of illegal Kuki villages, unrestricted illegal poppy cultivation by narco-terror groups, proliferation of Kuki militant camps, and the culture of impunity, intimidation and systematic silencing and killing of people opposed to Kuki militant hegemony.
Now therefore, we strongly recommend that, all Kuki villages found to have been established through fraudulent means, including the use of forged or improperly obtained village gazette notifications, should be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the law. Where illegality is established, appropriate action, including eviction of unauthorized settlements, should be undertaken by the competent authorities. Likewise, any individual residing in Manipur without legal status should be identified through due process and dealt with in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to help restore order, justice, and the rule of law in the state.
2) Leilon Vaiphei village and its satellite hamlets, who came as tenants of Konsakhul, must be evicted and the encroached land they occupy must be restored to Konsakhul Village, the original landowner for the establishment of a Naga Martyrs’ Ground in honour of the 6 Nagas who were abducted, tortured and killed by Kuki militants.
3) All Suspension of Operations (SoO) Camps located in Naga-inhabited areas must be shifted out immediately.
4) The Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreements with all Kuki narco-terrorist groups must be revoked and all of them must be declared as unlawful terror outfits for constant violation of SoO agreement ground rules.
5) Semtinthang Kipgen alias Thangboi Kipgen, Chief of KNF (P) must be declared as a terrorist and KNP(P) declared as an unlawful terrorist organization and arrested for the abduction and murder of the 6 innocent Nagas. It was under his leadership and command that the Kuki militants carried out the ambush, abduction and murder of 13 May, a heinous crime against humanity.
6) Nemcha Kipgen, Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur, the wife of Semtinthang Kipgen must be dropped from the Council of Ministers to ensure a free, fair, impartial and credible investigation. She cannot hold the constitutional post of deputy chief minister of Manipur as she is the wife of Semtinthang Kipgen alias Thangboi Kipgen, the leader of Manipur’s most dreaded terror outfit who has no compunction in killing innocent pastors and civilians, whether Naga or Thadou. Common people of Manipur are not safe under a minister who is dictated by her militant husband.
Similarly, Kimneo Hangshing, MLA of Saikul AC, wife of David Hangshing, chairman of the militant group Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), whose husband is a leader of another Kuki militant outfit must be investigated for her links with the militants, illegal poppy cultivation and the ethnic conflict in Saikul area between the Nagas and Kukis. Manipur was slowly limping back to normalcy under President’s Rule from February 2025 onwards but this fragile peace was destroyed after Nemcha Kipgen was given the post of deputy chief minister in February 2026. Under Nemcha Kipgen, as the deputy chief minister, the Naga-Kuki tension has grown into a full-scale conflict. The 13 May ambush, abduction and the heinous crime that happened in her political turf could have been averted if she chose to.
7) Lalboi Vaiphei, the Village Chief of Leilon Vaiphei, together with all men, including Thanginlen Vaiphei, the policeman, and all women involved in the abduction and subsequent murder of the 6 Nagas must be arrested and punished for criminal conspiracy, abduction, murder, and destruction of evidence: the dismemberment of 6 Naga bodies.
8) Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) must be prosecuted for deliberately spreading lies to create enmity between Nagas and Kukis. It is the mastermind of the entire ambush, abduction, murder and hostage release drama. The predated 6 May press statement of KIM issued to frame the Nagas for the 13 May Kuki ambush of 3 Thadou Pastors exposes its knowledge and complicity in the ambush and the abduction and murder of the 6 Nagas. Initially, KIM denied any knowledge of the abduction of the 6 Nagas who were taken with their wives along with a child. Later, KIM admitted that the Kuki Village Guards killed the 6 Naga hostages. This was not apology but a calculated move to lure the Nagas into a retaliatory killing of the 14 Kuki detainees and, thereby, gain tactical advantage. Nagas did not fall for this Kuki lies and deception. 14 Kukis went home to their loved ones but the 6 Nagas mortal remains lie in the mortuary and their loved ones are traumatized.
9) In light of the widespread loss of public confidence in its impartiality, the Assam Rifles including the COBRA, CRPF must be immediately withdrawn from Manipur until normalcy, public trust and lasting peace are fully restored.
10) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) reports on the ambush of the three Thadou Christian leaders and the abduction and cold-blooded murder of 6 Nagas including the 2 Naga pastors on 13 May 2026 must be made public within 15 days from today to show that they are transparent, accountable to the people of the country and can deliver justice.
Declaration
We solemnly make this declaration that each of the Ten Points is indivisible and non-negotiable for the Naga and the people of Manipur. In the event of failure by the concern authority to address these demands of the UNC and its allied organizations within the stated timeline, intensified democratic means to secure justice by the people of Manipur will follow.
Until every demand is fully addressed, Nagas will not accept the mortal remains of our beloved 6 innocent Naga brothers, as their acceptance without justice would amount to denial of truth, accountability and the dignity owed to the departed souls.
Media Cell | Luangdimai Sentinel
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