KCSOWC Ukhrul Condemns Killings, State Inaction, Media Bias

UKHRUL, October 6, 2026: The Kuki CSO Working Committee (WCKCSOs)–Ukhrul has strongly condemned what it described as the continuing killings of Kuki-Zo elders, women and children in Manipur, accusing the state authorities of failing to ensure accountability and alleging a double standard in the application of law and media coverage.

In a press statement by the Department of Information & Media, WCKCSOs–Ukhrul on October 6, the committee said the killing of Thenkhogin Baite and Thangboimang Lunkim at Thowai Kuki on March 11, 2026, was the first major killing incident of the ongoing conflict. According to the statement, the Government subsequently handed the case over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

However, the committee questioned the lack of publicly known progress in the case, asking where the investigation stands seven months later, what progress has been made and who has been held accountable. It said the prolonged silence surrounding the case had deepened the perception that Kuki-Zo lives did not receive equal urgency under the law.

The committee also referred to the recent killing of 71-year-old Pu Hemjang Haokip of Khunkho Kuki village. According to the statement, Haokip was abducted from his farm hut on October 3 and found dead the following day at S. Golai near Leimakhong, with his hands and legs tied.

The Khunkho Kuki Village Authority, the statement said, attributed the killing to NSCN(IM). The WCKCSOs–Ukhrul described the incident as another “horrifying reminder” of the insecurity faced by Kuki-Zo civilians.

Committee alleges continuing pattern of violence

The committee said the incidents should not be viewed as isolated killings, but as part of what it described as a continuing pattern of violence, intimidation and displacement against Kuki-Zo civilians by what it termed “self-claimed Naga @Kacha Naga armed groups”.

It further alleged that the Governments of Manipur and India had repeatedly failed to demonstrate the same urgency in pursuing accountability.

Under the heading “WHERE IS THE STATE?”, the committee questioned the State’s claim of neutrality, arguing that the law was being applied selectively.

It alleged that Kuki-Zo civil-society leaders faced arrests, cases and coercive action, while allegations concerning attacks by Kacha Naga armed groups against Kuki-Zo civilians were met with what it called “conspicuous silence”.

The statement also raised the issue of remarks attributed to Yarchuiso Kashung, President of Tangkhul Aze Katamnao Long. According to the committee, Kashung had openly threatened to raise the Chinese flag in every Tangkhul border village and seek protection from China if their demands were not met.

The WCKCSOs–Ukhrul questioned why the Governments of Manipur and India had remained silent over the alleged remarks and asked whether the same response would have followed had a Kuki-Zo leader made such a statement.

Media accused of double standards

The committee also criticised sections of the Manipur media, alleging what it described as another “glaring double standard” in the reporting of killings.

The statement claimed that when Kuki-Zo people are killed, reports often describe the perpetrators as “unknown miscreants”, while deaths involving Meitei or Kacha Naga victims are, according to the committee, attributed to “Kuki militants”.

It further alleged that perpetrators remain unidentified when Kuki-Zos are killed, while Kuki-Zo guilt is sometimes declared before investigations are completed when others are killed.

“Evidence must precede accusation,” the committee said, arguing that journalism should not become a vehicle for communal vilification.

“We are done pleading”

In the second part of the statement, issued under the heading “WE ARE DONE PLEADING”, the WCKCSOs–Ukhrul said the Kuki-Zo people had repeatedly called for help, sought protection and waited for justice while villages continued to be attacked and people continued to die.

The committee said it did not wish to place another demand before governments which, in its view, had remained silent despite repeated calls for help.

“We have waited long enough,” the statement said, adding that the State’s silence had itself become an answer.

The committee warned that every unpunished killing deepens distrust, every selective arrest reinforces what it described as unequal citizenship, and every prejudicial headline further deepens the divide.

It argued that continued inaction should not be regarded as neutrality, but as what it termed “acquiescence to impunity”.

The statement further warned that if the State continued to fail to protect Kuki-Zo lives, identify perpetrators and deliver justice, it could not indefinitely expect the Kuki-Zo people to believe that they enjoyed equal protection under the Constitution.

Concluding the statement, the WCKCSOs–Ukhrul asked, “How long will this double standard continue?”

The committee declared that Kuki-Zo lives were not expendable, that elders were not targets and that women and children were not collateral. It also stressed that its silence should never be mistaken for surrender.