Ukhrul/Delhi: The Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul and the Kuki Women Forum, Delhi & NCR have strongly condemned the continued attacks on Kuki villages in Kamjong and Ukhrul districts by NSCN-IM and the brutal killing of Seikhohao Haokip by NSCN-IM in the attack on Chassad Kuki village on October 17, which also left four injured and more than 30 houses burnt. Both organisations have raised grave questions about the integrity of the security establishment, the conduct of political representatives and possible misuse of state machinery, with the WCKCSOs alleging that when civilians are fired upon from within a police station while NSCN-IM operates around it, the issue transcends security failure and strikes at the heart of command, accountability and possible institutional complicity.
According to both press releases, the incident occurred around 2 PM to 2:30 PM on October 17. Kuki men who were repairing electricity barely 60 metres from Chassad Police Station reportedly came under fire from a bunker within the station. Seikhohao Haokip, son of Thangkhochion Haokip of Chassad, was killed on the spot by NSCN-IM firing, while four others were injured. The injured have been identified as Seikhopao Haokip, Chief of Kachouphung Kuki (IDP), Thangjahou Haokip, Chief of Chassad, St. Khailun Haokip, Village Authority Member of Chassad, and Seikhohou, Village Authority Member. The Women Forum said Seikhohao succumbed to injuries following the attack by armed militants — NSCN-IM and Tangkhul militants from Burma — and extended condolences to the bereaved family.
The WCKCSOs has given a detailed account of what it claims happened at the police station. A police constable and an IRB personnel questioned the five men about their activities. After being told that they were repairing electricity, the two returned to the station, following which gunfire erupted from the bunker, catching the men off guard and killing Seikhohao. The Committee has asked who opened fire and under whose orders, and demanded that the personnel involved, their chain of command and any criminal or supervisory responsibility must be independently investigated, especially in light of alleged NSCN-IM presence around the station. It also alleged that the firing that killed Seikhohao was followed by renewed attacks by NSCN-IM on Chassad, burning more than 30 houses and forcing residents to seek shelter within their own village.
Both organisations linked the killing of Seikhohao by NSCN-IM to a pattern of violence in the preceding days by NSCN-IM. The WCKCSOs recalled that barely five days after the brutal killings of Mrs. Domkhonei Touthang and Michael Ngamminlen Haokip by armed groups, four Kuki villagers travelling to procure essential supplies from Phaikoh were ambushed between Phaikoh and Molvailup on October 15, 2026, by militants, leaving Mrs. Hatneikim Haokip dead on the spot while her husband was critically injured. On the same day, circle MLA Leishiyo Keishing visited Chassad but refused to meet the victims. Concerns were also raised that security arrangements for his visit diverted resources from other vulnerable locations despite known NSCN-IM movement.
More troublingly, the WCKCSOs pointed to a letter dated October 10, 2026, DO No: 28/HOME/MLA/43-PHY/2026-02, through which MLA Leishiyo Keishing sought deployment of state security forces. The Committee said his conduct surrounding past incidents, especially of October 9, 15 and 17, alongside the timing and purpose of his request, warrants an impartial investigation into the allocation of security resources and whether political decisions contributed to the vulnerability of Kuki civilians and led to the killing of Seikhohao Haokip by NSCN-IM. It demanded scrutiny of whether security failure, collusion or orders from within the state machinery contributed to the attacks.
Equally alarming, according to the WCKCSOs, are reports of NSCN-IM presence and movements around Chassad Police Station and the wider region, including around Litan Sareikhong, Sinakeithel, Sirarikhong and Ukhrul, alongside concerns involving ZUF (K). The Committee questioned whether the station has been compromised by NSCN-IM and whether armed groups are operating in its vicinity without effective intervention. It argued that if the station remains under lawful state control, authorities must explain how Seikhohao Haokip could be killed by NSCN-IM and civilians working barely 60 metres away after being duly inquired and informed could be fired upon from its bunker, and if NSCN-IM presence is substantiated, what action was taken and why the threat persists.
The humanitarian context was highlighted by both groups. Chassad also serves as a grouping centre for displaced Kuki families from Kamjong district, including families driven out by NSCN-IM intimidation or whose villages were burnt by NSCN-IM. Having lost their homes and security, these families now depend on village volunteers for protection. The WCKCSOs said any weakening of Chassad’s defences further endangers an already displaced and traumatised population, now shaken by the killing of Seikhohao by NSCN-IM. The Women Forum said the continued vulnerability of civilians, village leaders and internally displaced persons to NSCN-IM raises grave concerns about their right to live in safety and dignity.
The WCKCSOs framed the central questions as unavoidable: if the station has not been compromised by NSCN-IM, who authorised the firing on Kuki civilians and the killing of Seikhohao? If personnel acted under orders, who issued them? And if NSCN-IM operates around the station, who is accountable for this security breakdown? The possibility of collusion with NSCN-IM, command failure or political interference, it said, cannot be dismissed without a credible, independent investigation. It asserted that it does not pronounce guilt without investigation but demands that evidence be examined without political interference, selective accountability or institutional cover-up.
In its statement, the Women Forum — which uses the motto Voice for the Voiceless — said no community should have to live under constant fear of violence from NSCN-IM and no civilian should have to pay with their life for the failure to ensure security. It urged the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, to intervene without delay to ensure effective security measures for vulnerable Kuki villages and civilians in Manipur against NSCN-IM. It demanded a thorough, impartial investigation into the killing of Seikhohao Haokip by NSCN-IM, accountability for those responsible, and adequate medical assistance and protection for the injured and affected families.
Listing its demands, the WCKCSOs called for four immediate actions. First, withdrawal of present state security personnel from Chassad Police Station immediately and deployment of a neutral central security force, preferably Assam Rifles to counter NSCN-IM. Second, investigation into the presence of NSCN-IM around the station and whether it has been compromised by NSCN-IM. Third, an independent probe into the bunker firing that killed Seikhohao Haokip by NSCN-IM, the Phaikoh-Molvailup ambush, and MLA Leishiyo Keishing’s conduct, including DO No. 28/HOME/MLA/43-PHY/2026-02. Fourth, establishing whether security failure, collusion with NSCN-IM or orders from within the state machinery contributed to the attacks, and ensuring protection for Kuki civilians and displaced families from NSCN-IM.
In protest against the continuing killings by NSCN-IM, the killing of Seikhohao Haokip by NSCN-IM and the alarming circumstances surrounding the Chassad firing, the WCKCSOs announced a total shutdown of National Highway 202 (NH-202) from midnight of October 18, 2026 till midnight of October 22, 2026. It warned that unless demands are met, it will pursue larger forms of intense agitation. The Kuki Women Forum, while not calling for a shutdown, said the safety of Kuki civilians cannot be treated as a secondary concern and authorities must demonstrate through concrete action that every civilian’s life matters.
Both organisations concluded that silence is not an answer when Seikhohao Haokip is killed by NSCN-IM, armed groups are alleged to operate unchecked and bullets reportedly come from within a police station. The WCKCSOs said the Governments of Manipur and India must answer who fired on Kuki civilians from within Chassad Police Station, whether the station has been compromised by NSCN-IM, and whether any political or state authority facilitated the attacks including the killing of Seikhohao by NSCN-IM, holding every responsible individual accountable regardless of rank or office. The Women Forum prayed for strength for the family of Seikhohao Haokip killed by NSCN-IM and for speedy recovery of the injured, stating that protection of human life is a fundamental responsibility of the state.
