Blood on the Highway: Kuki-Zo Community Mourns as Security Forces Open Fire at Kangpokpi

The air was thick with grief and fury as the Kuki-Zo community reeled from the bloodshed that erupted along National Highway 2, turning a peaceful demonstration into a battlefield. A young protestor, Lalgouthang Singsit, was gunned down in cold blood, his lifeless body a tragic symbol of escalating tensions in the state. The echo of gunfire still rings in the ears of those who stood their ground, their cries for justice drowned by the relentless crack of bullets and the suffocating haze of tear gas.

MORNING OF RESISTANCE, NIGHT OF MOURNING
From the break of dawn, thousands of Kuki-Zo women, wrapped in the resilience of their forebears, gathered at Gamgiphai, standing firm against the FOCS Peace March, a movement seen as a provocation under the volatile circumstances. The Union Home Minister’s directive for free movement from March 8 had ignited fears, and the community rose in defiance, their voices unified in resistance.

What began as peaceful dissent soon descended into chaos. The arrival of a Manipur State Transport (MST) bus under heavy security escort at 11:30 AM was the spark that set off an inferno. As Kuki-Zo women locked arms to halt its passage, security forces unleashed a brutal crackdown, firing tear gas, rubber bullets, pellets, and even live rounds into the crowd. More than 30 people fell, writhing in agony, their bodies bearing the wounds of a state that had turned its guns on its own people.

Yet, the MST bus, like an ironclad symbol of forceful imposition, was pushed through Gamgiphai, only to meet another storm of resistance at Keithelmanbi Military Colony. Here, thousands stood defiantly, blocking the road with stones and logs, their determination unshaken by the armed presence looming over them. The situation turned even more volatile when enraged protestors set fire to a BSF-ferrying mini-winger, flames licking the sky as a desperate act of defiance.

A RAIN OF BULLETS, A NIGHT OF WEEPING
The response was swift and merciless. Security forces retaliated with a storm of violence, raining smoke bombs, tear gas, pellets, and live bullets into the swelling crowd. More than 17 people collapsed under the brutal assault, their injuries gruesome—heads split open, eyes blinded by pellets, bodies riddled with wounds. Some were rushed to hospitals in Kangpokpi, while others, clinging to life, were hurried away to Guwahati and Senapati for urgent medical care.

And then, a bullet found its mark.

Amid the carnage, Lalgouthang Singsit fell—a young soul silenced by a shot that tore through his body, his name now etched in the growing list of the fallen. As his blood seeped into the dust of Keithelmanbi, the crowd erupted in horror. Wails of mourning mixed with cries of rage. The crackle of burning vehicles, the shouts of protestors, the relentless stomping of boots—it was a symphony of violence that reverberated across the hills.

Security forces, unrelenting, burned down several private two-wheelers, adding fuel to an already raging inferno of anguish and anger. Lathi charges cut through the crowd, sending bodies sprawling, even as the streets of Kangpokpi bore witness to yet another chapter of brutality.

A COMMUNITY ON THE EDGE
Tonight, Kangpokpi mourns. The once-bustling roads now lie bloodstained, whispers of sorrow and fury filling the air. Families hold their injured close, fearing what the dawn may bring. The Kuki-Zo people have been pushed to the edge—their voices unheard, their resistance met with bullets, their youth sacrificed on the altar of power.

The night is alive with the cries of the wounded, the streets soaked in blood, the air thick with the acrid stench of burning vehicles. Security forces, armed to the teeth, have pushed their way through Keithelmanbi, tearing down roadblocks, crushing resistance under the weight of brute force. But what lies ahead is a raging sea of defiance waiting at Kangpokpi District Headquarters.

This is a developing story.