Two Naga civilians shot dead in Manipur's Senapati district; CM condemns attack

Two Naga civilians were shot dead and two others injured when armed assailants opened fire at Kalenjang village, near Taphou Kuki in Manipur's Senapati district, on Saturday afternoon, police said.

The attack took place inside a house belonging to the village chief of Kalenjang. The deceased were identified as Rocky, a resident of Chowainu village under Mao police station who belonged to the Mao Naga community, and Kumar, from Laii Shirafii village under Tungjoy police station, who was from the Poumai Naga community. Both villages fall in Senapati district.

It is not yet clear how or under what circumstances the two men were at the Kuki village chief's residence when the firing occurred. The identities and condition of the two injured persons were not immediately known; they were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. A police team reached the area soon after the incident and began an investigation.

Local sources said two houses in Kalenjang were set on fire by miscreants in July, after which the village was abandoned. The village chief, Lhingjahoi Hangshing, issued a statement at the time saying the residents had left because of the ongoing tension between the two tribal communities in the region, and condemned what he described as an attempted arson attack on the village by a neighbouring non-Kuki-Zo community.

Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh condemned the killings, calling the attack a "cowardly act of violence". Former chief minister N Biren Singh said more than 60 murders had been recorded this year, and in a post on X asked how long bodies would continue to be counted instead of those responsible being held accountable and the deteriorating law and order situation brought under control.

Saturday's killings came two days after four Tangkhul Naga civilians were killed in an armed attack at Pilong in Kamjong district, near the India-Myanmar border. The two incidents have deepened concerns among Naga civil society organisations about the safety of Naga residents in the state. At least 13 people have been killed in separate gun attacks, allegedly by suspected militants, across Tamenglong, Kangpokpi, Noney and Kamjong districts in September.

The Kalenjang attack also coincided with the day the United Naga Council agreed to temporarily suspend its economic blockade following tripartite talks with the Centre and the Manipur government in Assam. The council's demands include revocation of the Suspension of Operations agreement with Kuki armed groups, the immediate removal of Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, and justice for six Naga men who were abducted in May and later killed.