Manipur CM attends funeral of BJP MLA in hill district

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh visited Churachandpur district on Saturday, July 4, 2026, to attend the funeral of former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vungzagin Valte. The visit, conducted by helicopter amid tight security, marked the first time a chief minister has entered the Kuki-Zo majority district since ethnic violence erupted in the state on May 3, 2023.

The funeral took place despite a district-wide shutdown and a boycott call by several Kuki-Zo civil society organizations, which demanded a permanent political solution to the conflict before permitting such a visit. Protesters blocked roads and markets remained closed, though no major violence was reported during the chief minister's attendance.

Valte, a three-time MLA from the Thanlon constituency and a former minister, died on February 20, 2026, at a hospital in Gurugram after nearly three years of treatment for injuries sustained in a mob attack. He was assaulted in Imphal on May 4, 2023, a day after the outbreak of violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. His funeral had been delayed for over four months as his family and the Zomi Council, an apex body representing eight tribes, demanded a...