Kanggui: The Kuki Students’ Organisation, Sadar Hills (KSO-SH) has strongly condemned the hijacking and burning of a Bolero Pickup vehicle belonging to a poor Kuki daily wage earner, warning that its patience over the ongoing economic blockade is running thin.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, 13th August 2026, from its Administrative Office at KSO Sadar Hills Complex, Kangpokpi District, the organisation said the vehicle belonging to Mr. Lamtinchon Chongloi was forcibly snatched at Mayangkhang Thangal Village, Kangpokpi District and was taken to Senapati District Headquarters where it was burned to ashes.
KSO Sadar Hills termed the act as heartless and barbaric, stating that destroying the livelihood of a poor daily wage earner cannot be justified and has no place in a civilized society. The organisation condemned the incident in the strongest possible terms and demanded immediate intervention from the concerned authorities.
“This heartless and barbaric act of destroying the livelihood of a poor daily wage earner is condemned in the strongest possible terms. Such acts have no place in a civilized society,” the press release stated.
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The student body further pointed out that for the last three months, the people of Kangpokpi have endured the economic blockade imposed by the United Naga Council (UNC) and have remained silent spectators in the interest of peace and communal harmony. It said despite suffering due to the blockade, the organisation has maintained restraint.
KSO Sadar Hills categorically stated that everything has its limits. The release noted that while the Kuki community in Kangpokpi has been suffering due to the prolonged blockade, the Naga residents living within Kangpokpi District have continued to avail all essential needs without any counter-blockade from the Kuki community, as a gesture of humanitarian values.
In view of the latest incident, KSO Sadar Hills has demanded that the concerned authority come forward, own responsibility, and compensate the victim for the loss at the earliest. It has appealed for immediate action and justice to prevent further escalation.
Failing which, the organisation warned, KSO Sadar Hills may lose its patience in maintaining humanitarian values and peaceful coexistence and may be compelled to react accordingly. It added that the full responsibility for any such development shall lie with the perpetrators and concerned authorities.
Background: The Kuki-Naga Tension in 2026
The latest incident comes amid renewed tension between the Kuki and Naga communities in 2026, rooted in the UNC’s indefinite economic blockade.
The UNC, the apex body of Naga tribes in Manipur, had imposed a total blockade on National Highways passing through Naga-inhabited areas, particularly NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur), since May 2026. The blockade was called to press for several demands, including opposition to the creation of new districts, demand for rollback of what it termed as encroachment in Naga ancestral areas, and protest against the state government’s alleged failure to address Naga political issues.
Kangpokpi District, which is dominated by the Kuki community but also has significant Naga villages like Mayangkhang, Tumuyon Khullen and other Thangal Naga settlements, has become the epicentre of the face-off. Because NH-2 passes through Kangpokpi and Senapati, the blockade has hit the Kuki-majority district hard, leading to skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, fuel shortage and disruption of medical supplies.
While Naga bodies alleged that Kuki groups have been obstructing movement of Naga vehicles in Kuki areas, Kuki organisations including KSO and Kuki Inpi have consistently denied imposing any counter-blockade, asserting that Naga civilians in Kangpokpi have been allowed to move and trade freely.
The situation has been further complicated by a series of vehicle checking, hijacking and arson incidents reported from the inter-district border between Kangpokpi and Senapati in June-July 2026. Several transport associations have already suspended services on the Imphal-Senapati route due to security concerns.
Security forces have increased frisking along the highway, but student bodies on both sides have accused the administration of remaining a mute spectator. Peace committees formed by the district administrations of Kangpokpi and Senapati have so far failed to break the deadlock.
Observers fear that the burning of a Kuki-owned commercial vehicle inside Senapati DHQ, if not addressed swiftly, could trigger retaliatory measures and undo years of fragile Kuki-Naga peace building efforts after the ethnic clashes of the 1990s. Kuki civil society organisations have been urging the Centre and the State Government to intervene immediately and ensure free movement and protection of livelihoods irrespective of community.
