UKHRUL, October 10, 2026: The Kuki CSO Working Committee (WCKCSOs), Ukhrul, has strongly condemned the killing of a Gorkhali farmer in an alleged ambush by NSCN (IM) cadres in Ukhrul district and announced an indefinite total shutdown along National Highway 202 (NH-202), effective from 11 am on Saturday.
In a press release issued by WCKCSOs Ukhrul on October 10, the committee identified the deceased farmer as Sandeep Rai, 40, from Senapati district. He was allegedly ambushed at around 6 am while travelling to his farmland along the Mahadev–Toloi–Pfutsero (MTP) Inter-Village Road, above Shaila Khuti, within the forest cultivation area of Chepu Yaolen.
According to the committee, Rai cultivated farmland at Chepu Yaolen on lease and was driving his red Maruti Alto, bearing registration number WB 24K 3992, when the incident occurred. The committee alleged that the ambush was believed to have targeted Kuki-Zo farmers.
The press release stated that Rai's body had yet to be retrieved and that the injuries leading to his death had not been ascertained. The chief of Chepu Yaolen was the first to inform the police about the incident.
Condemning the killing, the WCKCSOs described the attack on the farmer as an unconscionable act of violence, stating that he was an innocent civilian who posed no threat. The committee also extended condolences to Rai's bereaved family and prayed for strength for them during their grief.
The committee linked the latest killing to two other fatal incidents reported in the area. It said Domkhonei Touthang, wife of Lallenmang Touthang of Chassad village, was killed by personnel of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) between 8.30 pm and 10 pm on October 9.
In a separate incident, Michael Ngamminlen Haokip, 22, son of Paothang Haokip of Chassad, was killed during an attack on Chassad village allegedly carried out by NSCN (IM) cadres, according to the committee.
The press release stated that firing and the burning of houses in Chassad began at around 4.30 am on October 10. The renewed violence, it said, left bereaved families with little opportunity to mourn their loved ones or conduct dignified funerals.
Describing the killings of civilians and the destruction of homes as a grave humanitarian crisis, the committee accused the state and central governments of failing to protect innocent lives. It said the incidents were contrary to basic humanitarian principles and Christian values of compassion, mercy and respect for the dead.
In response to the incidents, the WCKCSOs announced an indefinite total shutdown along NH-202, effective immediately from 11 am on October 10, 2026. The shutdown will continue until further notice, the statement said.
The committee said responsibility for the consequences of the shutdown rested with those whose actions, it alleged, had pushed innocent civilians to the brink and made normal life increasingly unsafe.
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