Tensions Mount In Manipur As Missing Meitei Man Sparks Protests

Tensions surged in Imphal West after Laishram Kamalbabu Singh, a 55-year-old Meitei man, went missing on Monday amid the continuing ethnic unrest in Manipur.

Singh, a resident of Loitang Khunou in Imphal West, had gone to work at the Leimakhong Army Camp in Kangpokpi district on November 26 but failed to return home. His family reported that his phone was switched off around 2 PM that day.

The Leimakhong Army Camp, located 16 kilometers from Imphal, is situated near a border area between the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district and Meitei-dominated Imphal West. Singh, who performed menial jobs at the camp, disappeared under unclear circumstances.

The police, in collaboration with central forces, have launched a joint search operation to locate Singh. Protests erupted in Imphal West early Tuesday morning, with women staging roadblocks and demanding immediate updates about his whereabouts.

The incident comes against a backdrop of escalating violence in the region. On November 17, protests erupted after six Meitei individuals were found murdered in Jiribam. These events followed the killing of a Hmar woman, who was set ablaze in Zairawn on November 7, which further fueled ethnic tensions.

Since May 3, 2023, over 200 people have lost their lives, and thousands have been displaced in violent clashes between the Meitei community in the Imphal Valley and the Kuki-Zo groups in the surrounding hill districts. With at least 16 reported incidents of violence between October 1 and November 18, the state remains deeply divided and on edge.