KHRC cites 15 June attack on Leilon, police inaction at central hospital, accuses Modi-Shah govt of bias; calls denial of medical care a war crime
By Lulun Haokip, Kukiland Express
New Delhi, 16 June 2026: The Kuki Human Rights Council on Monday strongly condemned what it called an “inhuman blockade” of Indian Army ambulances carrying injured Kuki civilians at the gates of RIMS Hospital, Imphal, on 15 June 2026. In a press release issued from its Lamka office, KHRC said Meitei civil society groups and Tangkhul youth organisations jointly surrounded the ambulances at Lamphel gate at 9:40 AM and refused entry to victims of a fresh attack on Leilon village in Kangpokpi district.
According to KHRC, Leilon was attacked on the night of 14 June 2026 by Tangkhul militants of the NSCN-IM and the Kamson faction of ZUF. Several Kuki civilians were injured. The Indian Army’s 57 Mountain Division evacuated the victims to Imphal for treatment at RIMS, a Union Ministry of Health institution. After a two-hour standoff with the mobs, the Army withdrew and airlifted the injured to Guwahati. KHRC said Manipur Police did not clear the blockade.
The Council called the incident proof that Kuki and Meitei communities “cannot co-exist under one state administration.” KHRC stated that since violence began on 3 May 2023, Manipur has been divided into two territories with buffer zones held by Assam Rifles and CRPF. All ten Kuki MLAs, Kuki government employees, and Kuki students cannot return to Imphal, while Meitei civilians cannot travel through Kangpokpi.
KHRC said two separate markets, supply lines, and internet systems now function. It called the 15 June 2026 RIMS blockade proof that the state administration works only for Meitei and Tangkhul, not for Kuki. The Council accused the Modi and Amit Shah government of “administrative bias” towards both communities. It said RIMS has been blocked three times since May 2023 while state police stood by.
“Yet Meitei and Tangkhul groups are allowed to stop both Union forces at the hospital gate,” the release stated. The Council also alleged Government of India inaction against NSCN-IM, NSCN-K, and ZUF-Kamson faction, which it said have killed more than 1,100 Kuki civilians since 1993. It further said no effective action has been taken against Meitei armed groups that have killed over 250 Kukis since 3 May 2023.
Citing history, KHRC said the hills and valley were never under one local administration. It referenced the 1907 “Rules for the Management of the Hill Tribes,” the Manipur State Hill Peoples Regulation 1947, the 1949 Merger Agreement, Article 371C, and Section 158 of the MLR & LR Act, 1960. The Council argued that events since 3 May 2023 confirm forced integration has failed.
KHRC highlighted grave human rights violations against the Kuki community from 3 May 2023 to 15 June 2026. It said the community has faced bombing of villages, denial of medical care, blockade of highways, and forced displacement. Victims must be airlifted out of Manipur because state and central hospitals in Imphal are blocked by Meitei and Tangkhul groups, KHRC stated.
The Council said the right to life, health, and movement under Article 21 of the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions has been violated. It called the scale of violations “very high and very serious.” KHRC appealed to world leaders, the United Nations, and international human rights organisations to intervene. “When the majority Meitei community and its brother Tangkhul community can jointly stop the Indian Army from saving Kuki lives at a central hospital, the state has lost constitutional legitimacy,” it said.
KHRC demanded that the international community recognise the collapse of one administration and support the Kuki people’s right to a separate administration for survival and dignity. The press release ended with: “A hospital is not a battlefield. A patient is not an enemy. Denying medical care is a war crime.” The statement was issued by the Department of Information & Publicity, Kuki Human Rights Council.
