After 125 days in mortuary and nearly five months of seeking justice, ZCC ends mandate with no official word yet on funeral date for Thanlon legislator attacked in 2023
By Kimbawinu Vaiphei | Kukiland Express
Songpi, July 3, 2026: Kuki BJP leader and former Thanlon MLA Vungzagin Valte will finally be laid to rest, ending a 125-day wait since his body was flown to Lamka on February 24, 2026. The three-time Kuki legislator from 56-Thanlon Assembly Constituency succumbed to his injuries on February 20, 2026, in New Delhi, after more than three years under intensive medical care. Valte was severely injured on May 4, 2023, when he was allegedly attacked at Nagamapal in Imphal following a meeting with then Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. His mortal remains were airlifted from New Delhi via Aizawl and had since been kept in the cold storage facility of the District Hospital mortuary in Lamka as community bodies pursued accountability.
The ZCC had functioned as the sole authorised body to coordinate all matters related to the late Kuki MLA. Its mandate included engagement with the Centre, the State Government, and other authorities on issues of justice and accountability for the 2023 attack. For nearly five months, the ZCC led community deliberations while Valte’s body remained in mortuary storage, with leaders demanding answers and action from the government over the circumstances of his death.
On Wednesday, July 2, 2026, the ZCC held a meeting and resolved to hand over Valte’s mortal remains to his family to enable them to perform his final rites. Sources confirmed the decision was taken in accordance with the wishes of the bereaved family. With that handover, the committee declared its mandate complete and announced its dissolution. The ZCC had been the central coordinating authority on all matters concerning the late Kuki legislator since February, and its dissolution marks the formal end of the community-led process seeking justice.
As of the filing of this report, there is no official confirmation regarding the date, time, or venue of Valte’s funeral and burial. The absence of details leaves the final closure for the former Kuki MLA’s family and constituents pending, despite the ZCC’s decision to return the body. The delay underscores the political and communal sensitivities that have surrounded Valte’s case since the May 4, 2023, attack in Imphal, which occurred amid the outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur.
Valte’s death and the prolonged mortuary stay of his remains became a focal point for Kuki communities demanding accountability. The ZCC’s engagement with authorities over nearly five months ended without public announcement of any breakthroughs on justice or accountability. The committee’s dissolution signals that the organised community effort to press the Centre and State has concluded, even as the late Kuki MLA’s family now prepares for his last rites without a publicly stated schedule.
The burial of Vungzagin Valte closes a painful chapter that began with the May 2023 violence and stretched through three years of medical treatment and five months of community-led coordination. A three-time Kuki representative of Thanlon, Valte’s case remained unresolved in the courts and in public accountability forums up to his death. His final rites, once announced, will mark the end of a protracted period of mourning and mobilisation for the Zomi and Kuki community in Lamka.
