Kukiland: Kangpokpi district witnessed a night of intense turmoil on September 19-20 after six Kuki youths were detained in what local residents described as a joint operation by CRPF CoBRA commandos along with armed cadres of NSCN-IM near Chawangkining village. The six men were released late Friday night after hours of massive protests that shut down National Highway-2, but the incident has left deep resentment over the alleged nexus between central forces and Naga armed groups.
According to eyewitnesses and local village authorities, the detention took place in the evening when a team of CoBRA personnel, accompanied by NSCN-IM cadres in uniform, entered the periphery of Chawangkining, a Liangmai Naga village. The youths, who were reportedly playing carrom at a local gathering, were picked up without any warrant or explanation. Residents immediately alerted neighbouring Kuki villages in Motbung and Kangpokpi town, alleging that CRPF is now using NSCN-IM to target Kuki civilians. Within an hour, hundreds of women, youths and elders gathered demanding to know where the detainees were being taken.
The anger spilled onto NH-2, the vital Imphal-Dimapur lifeline, which was blocked at multiple points using burning tyres, logs, boulders and debris. Visuals from the highway late Friday night showed thick black smoke, long queues of stranded goods trucks, and slogans against CRPF and NSCN-IM. In Motbung Bazar and Kangpokpi town, shops closed and protesters confronted security forces, refusing to clear the road until the six youths were produced and freed unconditionally. Police attempts to negotiate failed as the crowd grew larger after 9 PM.
As tensions peaked, a CRPF Casspir mine-protected armoured vehicle deployed to control the crowd was attacked with petrol bombs by an agitated mob. Sources said the attack was triggered by a strong rumour that the CoBRA unit’s Commandant, alleged to be a Meitei officer, had personally led the joint team with NSCN-IM and orchestrated the detention of Kuki youths. The Casspir was seen in videos engulfed in flames before personnel doused the fire. No injuries inside the vehicle were reported, but the incident marked a dangerous breakdown of trust between locals and central forces.
By around midnight, following intervention by Kuki Inpi Kangpokpi, church leaders and women leaders, the six detained men were reportedly released. Local reports on Sunday confirmed that they had returned to their families, though traumatized. As of Saturday afternoon, there has been no official press note from CRPF, Kangpokpi district administration or Manipur Police explaining why the youths were detained, under what law, why NSCN-IM was present during a CRPF operation, and on what grounds they were later freed. The silence has only fuelled suspicion.
The morning after the unrest revealed the extent of damage. On NH-2 and the Chawangkining approach road, a badly burnt truck, a security vehicle with shattered windows, charred tyres and scattered stones lay strewn. Traffic resumed only partially on September 20, moving slowly due to debris and intensive security frisking. Residents said women and children remained awake all night fearing further raids, as CoBRA convoys continued to move in the area.
For Kuki civil society, the Chawangkining incident is not isolated but part of a clear pattern of selective bias. They point out that since 1990, NSCN-IM and ZUF-K have killed over 1,100 Kuki civilians, including women, children and pastors, with 26 killed in 2026 alone including the Longpi attack on September 13 where Mrs. Julie Gangte, Mr. Thangvel Gangte and young Miss Nei Esther Gangte who died on Sept 20 succumbed to bullet injuries. Despite this, not a single NSCN-IM cadre has been arrested, and they operate freely under Ceasefire and SoO protection, now allegedly alongside CRPF.
The sight of CRPF CoBRA conducting joint operations with NSCN-IM in Kuki areas while Kuki village volunteers defending their homes are branded illegal and jailed has become the central grievance. Locals ask how a group under ceasefire with the Government of India can be allowed to detain civilians of another community along with central forces. The alleged presence of a Meitei Commandant leading the joint team has added an ethnic dimension to an already fragile security situation in the buffer zone.
As of now, calm has returned to Kangpokpi but it remains fragile and tense. Kuki Inpi Kangpokpi, Kuki Students Organisation and other bodies have demanded an impartial NIA inquiry into the CRPF CoBRA-NSCN-IM joint operation, immediate action against NSCN-IM cadres involved in the Longpi killings, and a clear policy barring ceasefire groups from participating in civilian detentions. They have warned of indefinite NH-2 blockade and democratic agitation if such joint operations continue. The Ministry of Home Affairs and state government are yet to respond.
