Fresh Escalation in Manipur: Meitei Man Shot Dead After Abduction in Churachandpur

january 22, 2026: In a chilling incident that has shattered a brief period of relative calm, a 29-year-old Meitei man was abducted and shot dead by suspected militants in the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district. The victim, identified as Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh, was reportedly visiting his wife, who belongs to the Kuki-Zo community, when the tragedy unfolded on Wednesday night, January 21, 2026.

The Incident

According to security officials, the incident occurred in the Tuibong area. Masked men, suspected to be members of the United Kuki National Army (UKNA), arrived at the couple’s residence in a black SUV. The armed group abducted both Rishikanta and his wife, Chingnu Haokip, and drove them toward the vicinity of Natjang village.

While Haokip was eventually set free, her husband was not as fortunate. In a horrifying turn of events, a video of the execution was later circulated on social media. The footage purportedly shows Singh on his knees, pleading for his life with folded hands before being shot. The video was titled with the provocative caption: “No peace, no popular governments.”

A Secret Visit Turned Fatal

Rishikanta, originally from the Meitei-dominated Kakching district, had been working in Nepal for the past two years. He had reportedly returned to Manipur on December 19, 2025, to visit his wife and had been staying in Churachandpur secretly.

Due to the intense ethnic segregation following the violence that erupted in May 2023, members of the Meitei and Kuki communities rarely venture into each other’s strongholds. While some reports suggest the couple had sought informal permission from local umbrella groups to reside together, the situation remains a stark reminder of the “buffer zones” and deep-seated divisions that define present-day Manipur.

Context: A State Under Strain

The killing comes at a particularly sensitive time for the state:

• President’s Rule: Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 2025. This incident occurs just weeks before the current term is set to expire on February 12, 2026.
• Ethnic Tensions: Since May 2023, ethnic clashes have claimed over 260 lives and displaced approximately 60,000 people.
• Militant Activity: The suspected group, UKNA, is a non-signatory to the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement between the government and various Kuki-Zo militant groups, making them a significant challenge for security forces.

Official Response

The Manipur police have registered a suo motu case and recovered the body from Natjang village for a post-mortem examination. Security forces, including the Assam Rifles, have intensified patrolling in the area to prevent any retaliatory violence.

This brutal murder has reignited fears of a fresh wave of ethnic conflict, highlighting the fragile nature of peace in the region and the extreme risks faced by inter-community couples in a deeply divided society.