Imphal, November 12, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A Kuki woman was shot dead and a man injured in an exchange of fire between suspected rival militant groups near Taphou Kuki village along the border of Manipur’s Kangpokpi and Senapati districts on Thursday, officials said.
The incident occurred in an area between Taphou Kuki village in Kangpokpi and Kailengjang in neighbouring Senapati district. Following the gunfight, police issued an advisory against non-essential travel along Imphal-Dimapur National Highway (NH-2).
A Kuki organisation identified the deceased as Kimneineng Chongloi, 41, a mother of a four-year-old boy from Taphou Kuki village. It alleged that she was killed by NSCN-IM and ZUF-K members while working in a paddy field.
Preliminary reports indicated that Kuki militants allegedly opened fire on Naga cultivators working in the area, triggering retaliatory firing. The woman’s body was recovered by local residents and security personnel. A man injured in the incident was shifted to a private hospital in Kangpokpi for treatment.
Security forces rushed to the area to contain the situation and prevent further escalation.
The incident took place amid protests by the Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), which held a sit-in demonstration at the district headquarters over what it described as an unsatisfactory response to its demands following the abduction and killing of two Kuki-Zo youths from Taphou Kuki village.
COTU has demanded that Taphou Kuki village be brought under the jurisdiction of Kangpokpi district police instead of the existing Senapati district police station.
The two youths, identified as Tinginlun Chongloi, 21, and Paoginlal Hangshing, 20, went missing on October 28. Their bodies were recovered in neighbouring Senapati district on November 1 during a joint search operation by central and state security forces. Their deaths triggered widespread resentment and a shutdown in Kangpokpi district.
Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said on Monday that the state government had handed over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for investigation.
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