New Delhi: The Kuki Human Rights Council (KHRC) is deeply shattered to announce the untimely demise of a young Kuki daughter, Miss Nei Esther Gangte, who succumbed to critical bullet injuries this morning, 20th September 2026, at the Tele-ICU, District Hospital, Churachandpur.
In a press statement Ref No. KHRC/PR/2026/092 issued by its Information & Publicity Wing, the Council said Miss Nei Esther was critically injured on 13th September 2026 in the cowardly attack on Longpi Village by cadres of NSCN-IM and ZUF-K. The same attack had claimed the lives of Mrs. Julie Gangte and Mr. Thangvel alias Roel Gangte on the spot. The daughter of Kuki fought bravely for seven days before succumbing.
According to KHRC and village authorities, the Longpi attack took place at around 3:30 PM on September 13 near Longpi Vengthah, a forested stretch under Nungba Police Station in Noney district. The three victims — Julie Gangte, Thangvel Roel Gangte and Nei Esther Gangte — were returning home carrying rice supplies when they were allegedly waylaid by armed cadres hiding in the jungle and shot at close range.
Eyewitness accounts shared by villagers said Julie Gangte, a daughter of Kuki, and Thangvel Roel Gangte, the only son of his family, died on the spot near the sacks of rice they were carrying. Nei Esther Gangte, another daughter of Kuki, sustained multiple bullet injuries and was found in a pool of blood. Villagers carried her on foot due to non-motorable terrain to a nearby health centre and later shifted her to District Hospital, Churachandpur where she was kept under close observation in Tele-ICU.
KHRC said Miss Nei Esther was innocent and unarmed and her only fault was being a Kuki daughter in her own ancestral village. The Council extended its heartfelt condolences to her parents, family and the people of Longpi Village and prayed that God may give strength to the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss. The Council said a life taken too soon, but never forgotten, and may her soul rest in peace.
With her passing, the death toll in the Longpi incident alone has risen to three. The Longpi attack was the second attack on September 13, which is observed as Kuki Black Day in memory of hundreds of Kuki civilians killed in the 1990s. Hours earlier, at around 4:00 AM, armed miscreants attacked L. Tollen village under Kaimai Police Station in Tamenglong district along NH-37, killing Lhingzangai Singsit on the spot and her husband Seineh Singsit on the way to Silchar Medical College. Their six-year-old son sustained a severe gunshot injury to his hand.
Together, the twin attacks on Black Day have now claimed five Kuki lives — three in Longpi and two in L. Tollen — and left a child critically injured. Following the attacks, hundreds of villagers, mostly women and children from Longpi and L. Tollen, have fled their homes and taken shelter in nearby forests and safer villages in Kangpokpi district. Village authorities alleged slow response from security forces due to the remoteness of the area.
In a strong condemnation, KHRC condemned what it termed the Government of India’s selective bias and policy of impunity. The Council alleged that since 1990 till today, NSCN-IM and ZUF-K have killed more than 1,100 Kuki civilians including women, children and pastors, and that in 2026 alone, 26 Kuki civilians including two pregnant women and three pastors have been killed by these groups.
The Council further alleged that yet the Government of India has not arrested a single cadre from NSCN-IM and ZUF-K despite repeated killings, while these groups continue to operate freely under Ceasefire and Suspension of Operation (SoO) protection with full impunity. KHRC said on the other hand, Kuki village volunteers who defend their ancestral villages are branded as illegal and jailed, which shows selective justice.
KHRC has demanded immediate arrest of the culprits involved in the Longpi and L. Tollen attacks, an NIA investigation into the killing of 1,100 Kuki civilians since 1990, immediate deployment of adequate Central Security Forces in vulnerable Kuki villages in Tamenglong and Noney districts, and compensation and best medical treatment for the victims’ families.
The Council concluded that the daughter of Kuki, Miss Nei Esther Gangte, will be remembered as a symbol of innocence and resilience and that the Kuki community will continue to seek justice for her and for all Kuki civilians killed over the past three decades.
