KANGPOKPI, November 1, 2026: At least three protesters were injured in clashes with security personnel in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Sunday after the bodies of two missing Kuki men were brought to the district hospital, according to officials cited by Hindustan Times. The newspaper reported that security personnel fired tear-gas shells and live rounds into the air as a crowd gathered outside the superintendent of police’s office.
The confrontation followed a joint search operation in which security forces recovered two bodies along SP Road, east of National Highway 2. Hindustan Times identified the men as Paoginlal Hangshing and Tinginlun Chongloi, who had been missing since October 28. The Indian Express also reported the recovery and said police had not publicly identified those responsible in the statement confirming it.
Also read: Manipur Violence: Three Kuki Men Killed in Noney, Two Bodies Recovered in Search
Hindustan Times reported that a large crowd gathered when the Kangpokpi superintendent of police brought the bodies to the district hospital. Some people attempted to storm the SP’s office, prompting a confrontation with security personnel. The report said protesters pelted stones and used slingshots, while security personnel deployed tear gas and fired rounds into the air.
At least three protesters were injured and taken to a nearby healthcare centre for first aid, officials told the newspaper. The report did not provide a further medical update on those injured. The precise time of the confrontation was not stated.
The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), a Kuki-Zo organisation based in Kangpokpi, said it would not accept the mortal remains until five demands were met. Hindustan Times reported that the demands included transferring Taphou Kuki village from Senapati police jurisdiction to Kangpokpi, removing the NSCN-IM Huthrong Brigade from its Oklong camp, transferring the case to the National Investigation Agency, and arresting those responsible. The committee also demanded the removal of Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho from the state cabinet.
These are demands made by CoTU; they are not official findings about who carried out the killings or evidence that any named organisation was responsible. The reports reviewed for this article did not identify a confirmed arrest or an official attribution of responsibility. Any allegation against an armed group remains unverified unless established by investigators.
Also read: Manipur Violence: 15 Homes Burned in Kamjong, Villagers Flee
The recovery of the two bodies came a day after three Kuki men were killed in an exchange of gunfire in Noney district on Saturday, October 31. Reuters reported that police described the participants in that gunfight as unidentified armed miscreants. Reuters separately reported that the two other men had been found during a security search in Kangpokpi district.
The two incidents should not be treated as a single coordinated attack without evidence. The sources consulted do not establish that the same people were involved in both incidents, or that either event was directed by a particular organisation. Reuters reported that a Kuki tribal body blamed Naga separatist outfits, but that allegation is distinct from a police finding.
The latest incidents add to Manipur’s wider security crisis, which began in May 2023 and has involved violence between the predominantly Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities as well as separate tensions involving Naga groups. Reuters has reported that the wider conflict has killed more than 300 people and displaced over 60,000. Those figures describe the broader conflict, not the number affected by Sunday’s events.
Police said search and combing operations would continue to identify and apprehend those responsible for the killings. The reports available at the time of writing did not provide forensic findings, a confirmed motive, or details of any arrests or charges. The circumstances of the two men’s deaths and the identities of those involved in the Noney gunfight remain matters for investigation.
The immediate priority is to protect residents, maintain safe movement around affected areas and establish the facts through transparent investigations. Public claims about responsibility should be attributed to the people or organisations making them; they should not be presented as proof or extended to an entire ethnic community.