Protests erupt in Manipur’s Kangpokpi after two missing youths found dead

• Protests broke out in Kangpokpi after the bodies of two missing youths were recovered in neighbouring Senapati district.

• Security forces used tear gas and batons after protesters threw stones; one protester suffered a head injury and was reported stable.

• Deputy chief ministers condemned the killings, while community organisations demanded arrests and an impartial investigation.

Security was reinforced in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Monday after the discovery of the mutilated bodies of two missing youths in neighbouring Senapati triggered protests and clashes with security personnel, police said.

Demonstrations began on Sunday night, with protesters burning tyres and obstructing roads with logs and boulders. Police said some routes had since been cleared.

Security personnel fired tear gas and used batons to disperse protesters after stones were thrown at them, according to police. One protester sustained a head injury, reportedly after being struck by a tear gas shell. His condition was stable.

A district official said tensions remained high and additional forces had been deployed on Monday morning.

The bodies of T Chongloi, 21, and Paoginlal Hangsing, 20, were recovered on Sunday morning during a search operation in a hilly area of Senapati district. Officials said they were found inside gunny bags at a banana farm.

The two youths had gone missing from Taphou Kuki village on 29 October.

Joint teams of police, CRPF and Assam Rifles had been searching along the boundary between Kangpokpi and Senapati districts. Police said the bodies were discovered during one of these operations.

A statement from the police also described searches involving Manipur Police, CoBRA, CRPF, Assam Rifles and RAF personnel in the area east of National Highway 2, along SP Road. The hilly road connects the two districts.

Deputy Chief Ministers Nemcha Kipgen and Losii Dikho condemned the killings and called for justice.

Kipgen said the search for the youths had ended tragically after initial hopes that they would return safely. She demanded a thorough investigation and action against those responsible.

Dikho said no dispute or grievance could justify killing and described the continuing violence in Manipur as unacceptable. Kipgen belongs to the Kuki community, while Dikho is a Naga.

The Naga Peoples’ Organisation sought an impartial, transparent and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the recovery of the bodies.

Its president, Kuba Peter, condemned the killings and warned against any manipulation of evidence or attempts to provoke communal hostility. His remarks represented the organisation’s concerns; no findings establishing such interference were cited.

Meanwhile, the Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity demanded Dikho’s resignation and sought to move Taphou Kuki village from the jurisdiction of the Senapati superintendent of police to that of the Kangpokpi SP.

The committee said the bodies would not be brought to the village for final rites until those responsible were arrested.

The unrest follows another deadly incident on Saturday, when three members of the Kuki community were killed in a gunfight between rival armed groups in Noney district, police said. Their bodies reached Churachandpur on Sunday night.

More than 50 people have been killed and dozens of homes burnt in Tamenglong, Noney, Kamjong, Ukhrul and Kangpokpi districts since clashes between Kuki and Naga communities began in February this year.

Manipur had previously witnessed prolonged violence between Meiteis from the Imphal Valley and Kukis from the surrounding hills, leaving more than 300 people dead, 49 missing and thousands displaced.

With agency inputs