Amit Shah to review Manipur security situation tomorrow; CM likely to visit Churachandpur, a first since 2023 violence

As violence expands to new areas in Manipur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to review the security scenario in the Northeast State at a meeting in New Delhi on Saturday (July 4, 2026), while Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh is expected to visit Churachandpur, a Kuki-Zo-majority district, on the same day, government officials told The Hindu.

Mr. Shah will hold the meeting with Manipur government’s Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh and State Director General of Police Mukesh Singh, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) and D-Gs of Assam Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Border Security Force (BSF), amid continued violence in the State that has claimed at least 40 lives since President’s Rule was revoked on February 4. He had last reviewed the security situation on March 20, when he asked the Chief Minister to crack down on drug cartels and prioritise the resettlement of thousands of people displaced after ethnic violence erupted between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei people in the State on May 3, 2023. CM Yumnam Khemchand Singh is not part of Saturday’s (July 4) meeting.

Mr. Shah’s meeting is likely to discuss the emerging pockets of violence and take a stock of the adherence of ground rules by Kuki and Meitei insurgent groups in peace talks with the government. The recovery of looted police weapons and other armoury along with the fresh influx of refugees from Myanmar is also likely to be discussed, said a government official.

Meanwhile, the Manipur Chief Minister Mr. Khemchand is likely to travel to Churachandpur, a Kuki-Zo district on Saturday (July 4) where he is expected to meet the family of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vungzagin Valte, who died on February 21, another government official said.

Last rites of BJP MLA

The last rites of Valte, who was from the Zomi tribe, is all set to be performed on Saturday (July 4) as the family had refused to bury the body till now as they demanded the attackers be arrested first.

The body of Valte who was physically assaulted by a mob in Imphal on May 4, 2023 and passed away at a hospital in Haryana’s Gurugram on February 21 this year, is preserved at Churachandpur district hospital’s mortuary.

The Zomi Council has organised a condolence programme on Saturday (July 4) and the burial is likely to take place around 1.30 p.m.

Mr. Khemchand’s visit, if it materialises, would be the first by a Manipur Chief Minister to the hill district since ethnic violence between the tribal Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities broke out in the State in 2023. Security has been tightened for the Chief Minister’s proposed visit even as Kuki civil society organisations decided to boycott his arrival.

On May 3, 2023, the violence first spread from Churachandpur when a tribal solidarity rally was going on to protest a Manipur High Court judgment asking the State government to submit its recommendation on the inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list.

The Northeast State is inhabited by three major communities — Meiteis, tribal Kuki-Zos and Nagas. So far, around 300 people have been killed since ethnic violence erupted in May 2023. Since February 9 this year, the violence has expanded between the Naga and Kuki communities, and has reached Ukhrul district along Myanmar border and Noney district in the west. These areas had remained free of ethnic tensions between the Nagas and the Kukis so far.

Since May 13, when three Thadou-Kuki pastors were killed in Kangpokpi, the Kuki-dominated district is witnessing one of the worst economic blockades in the past few years.

Due to its location — surrounded by the Naga-dominated Senapati district in the north and the Meitei-dominated valley districts in the south — preceded by a Naga settlement, the transportation of essential and daily-need items has been severely affected in the hill district, as Naga village volunteers have imposed a blockade on goods entering from outside the State.

Other than the Chief Minister and Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam from the Meitei community, two Deputy Chief Ministers Losii Dikho and Nemcha Kipgen, representing Naga and Kuki communities, were sworn in on February 4. The expansion of the Manipur Cabinet is yet to take place even as Assembly elections in the State are due early next year. Ms. Kipgen, who took oath virtually from New Delhi, is yet to travel to Imphal and attends all meetings virtually.