A gunfight between security forces and armed volunteers at Bitiang village in Manipur’s Noney district left one Naga Village Guard (NVG) member dead and several people injured on Wednesday, July 29, triggering widespread protests and a shutdown call across Naga-inhabited areas.
Police sources said the Central Reserve Police Force’s CoBRA unit launched an operation at Bitiang village, near Tupul under Khoupum police station, sparking a gunfight that lasted close to an hour, with reports placing the start between 6:30 am and 7:05 am. Local sources claimed the operation targeted an NVG training camp involving over 300 CoBRA personnel.
The youth who died has been named as Lanbimei Riamei, 22, of Longmai Bazar in Noney, son of Kadirang Riamei. He reportedly died of bullet wounds suffered in the exchange of fire. Five others were hurt, including two CoBRA personnel, Head Constable Radhyshyam and Constable Jitendra Kumar of the 207 battalion, said to have suffered splinter wounds, and three others believed to be Naga Village Guard recruits training with arms nearby, who were taken first to a local health centre and later moved to Imphal for treatment.
Residents of Bitiang, largely a Rongmei Naga area, pushed back against the operation, with women from the locality reportedly trying to stop security forces from advancing further into the village. The Bitiang Village Authority urged the Deputy Commissioner of Noney district to pull out the CRPF-CoBRA personnel stationed there.
A number of Naga organisations spoke out against the operation. The Naga Village Guard-Eastern Command blamed the CoBRA unit and the Zeliangrong United Front-Jenchui (ZUF-J) for what it called an armed assault on the volunteers, rebuking the ZUF-J for “spilling the blood of own brethren.” The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) separately termed the operation an unprovoked assault carried out in collusion between CoBRA and the ZUF-J, and mourned him as a “brave martyr.”
The Working Committee of the Joint Tribes Council Manipur (JTC-Manipur) called an indefinite shutdown across Inpui, Liangmai, Rongmei and Zeme inhabited areas, halting highway, rail and other project work, though hospitals, schools and other essential services, including power and water supply, continued to function. The Rongmei Naga Youth Organisation Manipur separately imposed a total shutdown at the Tamenglong district headquarters.
The JTC withdrew the general shutdown on July 30 but kept its economic blockade in place, insisting on “decisive and meaningful action” against those behind the killing of six Naga civilians, two of them pastors, abducted from Leilon Vaiphei on May 13, whose mutilated bodies were recovered on June 10. Nobody has been arrested in that case so far.
The Rongmei Naga Council, Manipur said the CoBRA action had been coordinated with Kuki armed groups and the ZUF-J, and sought the removal of Rajendra Narayan Dash, Inspector General of CRPF for Manipur and Nagaland, and Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Manipur.
Riamei’s funeral took place at the Longmai Part-III Church Community Hall, where community leaders and local residents gathered in large numbers to mourn him.
The ZUF dismissed the charges against it as “false, politically motivated and malicious.” Its Secretary for Information and Publicity, L.S. Gangmei, said the outfit’s patrol had been ambushed by NSCN-IM cadres and had fired back in self-defence. It further contended that the man killed was not a Village Guard but an NSCN-IM cadre ranked Second Lieutenant, whom the NSCN-IM was misrepresenting, and warned the JTC against building its protest on unverified claims.
The July 29 clash followed an earlier confrontation at the same village on July 22, after which the JTCM had declared a non-cooperation movement against the ZUF-J.
