Imphal: The ongoing violence in Manipur claimed another civilian’s life in Kangpokpi’s Pongringlong village on Monday. A civilian identified as Chunjanglung Panmei, 57, was reportedly found dead with bullet wounds, suspected to have been inflicted by Kuki armed miscreants.
According to the Joint Tribes Council, Manipur (JTCM), Panmei, a peace-loving villager of Pongringlong and a member of the village authority Pongringlong -1, went out at dawn simply to gather firewood for his family, not to fight or threaten anyone.
“In return, he was met with bullets. His only crime was being a Naga on his own ancestral land,” stated the JTCM in its condolence message.
In another statement, the Naga Village Guard, Eastern Command (NVG-EC) strongly condemned the heinous crime perpetrated by the Kuki militants against a Naga civilian and warned of befitting retaliation.
The Naga Village Guard-EC stated that in the early hours of Monday, the Kuki militants armed with sophisticated weapons laid an ambush against the Rongmei Naga villagers, who were gathering firewood between Pongringlong and Charoi Pondaijang at around 5 am. While the others managed to flee the spot and return home, Chunjanglung Panmei was found missing. Later, his body riddled with multiple bullets was found in the jungle near the site of the attack. He was reportedly captured and brutally shot dead without any remorse, the statement said.
The Naga Village Guard-EC also noted that recently, Naga villagers of Pongringlong have been repeatedly attacked by Kuki militants backed by cadres under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact and narco-terrorists on May 26 and June 5, 2026 respectively.
Meanwhile, Panmei’s mortal remains have reportedly been brought to RIMS Hospital in Imphal for post-mortem.
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