A Meitei man was shot dead in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on the night of January 21, 2026, while visiting his Kuki wife, in an incident that has sparked fresh tensions in the violence-scarred state. After five days of protests, his family agreed on Sunday, January 25, to perform his last rites following assurances from the state governor.
Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh, a resident of Kakching Khunou in the Meitei-dominated valley, was abducted from his wife’s home in Tuibuong by masked gunmen. A video of his killing, released by the assailants, shows Singh on his knees with folded hands, pleading for his life moments before being shot at point-blank range with an AK-series assault rifle. The video, which has no sound, carries the text overlay: “no peace, no popular government”.
Singh had been working in Nepal and returned in December 2025, travelling to Churachandpur on December 19 via Aizawl in neighbouring Mizoram to meet his wife, Chingnu Haokip. The couple had reportedly been preparing for marriage in May 2023 when ethnic violence erupted between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities, forcing them to postpone their plans. Singh even adopted the Kuki name Ginminthang to visit his partner, with whom he had been living for the past month.
According to the FIR lodged by his family, four men arrived at the house in a black SUV on Wednesday evening. While two remained in the vehicle, the other two, one carrying a weapon, entered the home and took the couple away. Chingnu told police she was thrown out of the car before Singh was taken away and killed. She called her family at around 1.45 am on Thursday to inform them of his death.
The incident triggered protests across the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley. In Kakching, Singh’s home district, demonstrators blocked the Indo-Myanmar Sugnu Road demanding justice. A Joint Action Committee formed in connection with his death refused to accept the body until their demands were met. The key demands included transferring the case to the National Investigation Agency, arrest of Rishikanta’s partner, and a government job for his brother.
After two meetings with Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the family agreed on Sunday afternoon to perform the last rites. “The governor has accepted 80 percent of our demands, and that is why we are here to receive the body,” said Santosh Singh, a JAC member. The government had earlier announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family.
Family members, relatives and neighbours who had been protesting for five days arrived at the mortuary of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital in Imphal on Sunday afternoon to receive the body. Singh’s body will not be cremated as per Hindu rituals but buried under Meitei customs for “martyrs”. “We bury the dead to give them the status of a martyr. He is a martyr for the Meitei community,” Singh said. Before Meiteis formally adopted Hinduism in the 18th century, they would bury their dead.
A poster on the truck carrying Rishikanta’s body read: “Rest in peace, Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh. You have shown that true love cannot be separated by caste, creed or the threat of violence. Truth and love always triumph. May your ultimate sacrifice awaken and unite us.”
Security officials said the Assam Rifles learned of the murder through their sources, as no call was made to police. The video was shared on WhatsApp around 9.30 pm from a Guwahati IP address. Police suspect the involvement of the United Kuki National Army, an insurgent group active in Henglep subdivision, though the group has not claimed responsibility. Authorities are reportedly questioning Singh’s partner. Security forces have launched combined operations in the Natjang and Khoirentak areas of Churachandpur to hunt down the militants involved.
The Kuki National Organisation, an umbrella body of Kuki insurgent groups under a suspension of operations agreement with the government, issued a categorical denial on Thursday. “Neither did the organisation have any knowledge of the visit of Mayanglambam nor was it involved in the incident. The organisation further clarifies that under no circumstances is any spouse of our people from any other community ever subjected to such activity,” the KNO stated.
Sources suggest the killing aims to provoke ethnic violence at a time when government formation talks are ongoing. Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 2025. The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity condemned the killing as evidence of the Centre’s failure to control armed militants despite the presence of more than 60,000 security personnel in the state. The Coordination Committee, representing six banned organisations, called for an 18-hour shutdown from noon on January 25 and urged people to boycott Republic Day celebrations.
Ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities has claimed over 250 lives since May 3, 2023. The conflict began after the Manipur High Court directed the state government to consider granting Scheduled Tribe status to the Meiteis, triggering protests from tribal groups. Since then, the two communities have not accessed each other’s areas, with buffer zones created between valley districts dominated by Meiteis and hill districts where the Kuki-Zo live.
