Woman killed in Taphou Kuki firing as reports differ on details

IMPHAL – A woman was shot dead while harvesting paddy near Taphou Kuki village in Manipur on Thursday, November 12, when firing broke out on the boundary between Kangpokpi and Senapati districts. At least one other person was injured.

Early reports of the Taphou Kuki firing agree on the death but differ on the woman’s name, the number of injured, the time of the shooting and who opened fire. Nagaland.News compared four published accounts and found no official statement from the Manipur Police, and no claim of responsibility, at the time of publishing.

What is known about the Taphou Kuki firing

All the reports say the woman was a resident of Taphou Kuki and was working in a paddy field when she was hit. Deccan Herald, quoting officials, said she was found dead with a sickle still in her hand, and that locals and security forces recovered her body.

The same report placed the exchange of fire in an area between Taphou Kuki and Kailengjang, a neighbouring village in Senapati district, at around 11 am. The Assam Tribune, citing a police report, also gave the time as about 11 am and said farmers left their fields and fled as the shooting began. Villagers warned commuters to avoid the nearby stretch of National Highway 2, the paper said.

The injured were taken to hospital in Kangpokpi. Ukhrul Times named it as Mission Hospital, Kangpokpi, and said security personnel had reached the site.

Where the accounts differ

• The woman’s name: Deccan Herald, EastMojo and Ukhrul Times named her as Nengboi Chongloi. The Assam Tribune, citing police, identified her as Kimneineng Chongloi, 40, wife of Thanggou Chongloi. It is not yet clear whether these are two forms of the same person’s name.
• The injured: Deccan Herald and Ukhrul Times reported one injured person. The Assam Tribune named two, Sehngam Chongloi, also known as David, and Lamkhochon Chongloi, and EastMojo also reported two injured without naming them.
• The time: EastMojo said the shooting happened around 10 am, the police report cited by The Assam Tribune said 11 am, and Ukhrul Times described it as Thursday afternoon.
• The district: Some outlets placed the incident in Kangpokpi district and others in Senapati. Taphou Kuki lies on the boundary of the two districts and falls under the Senapati Police Station, which is why both names appear.

One online outlet reported that two women were killed. Nagaland.News found no police account or other report of a second death.

Who opened fire is not confirmed

The reports describe the shooters in different ways, and none names a specific group. Deccan Herald quoted officials as saying the gunfight was between “rival militant groups”. EastMojo said the firing took place during a gunfight between armed men from Kuki and Naga groups.

Ukhrul Times gave a different account, citing unnamed sources. It said people from both communities had gone out to harvest with village guards, that the two sides were on opposite banks of a stream, and that a disagreement led to the exchange of fire. It also reported unconfirmed casualties on the other side, which no other outlet has reported.

None of these versions has been confirmed by the police. Nagaland.News has not independently verified the victims’ identities or the number of injured, and will update this report when an official account is available.

Second shooting in Taphou Kuki in two weeks

The village is already at the centre of an investigation. Two young men from Taphou Kuki, Paoginlal Hangsing and Tinginlun Chongloi, went missing on October 28, and their bodies were found on November 1 in a forested area along the Senapati-Paibung Road, Manipur Police’s ADGP (Law and Order) Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo told reporters, India Today NE reported. He said a proposal to hand the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was at an advanced stage.

Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh visited the families in Taphou Kuki on November 9 and said the NIA had taken over the probe, Hub Network reported. The Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), which began a sit-in on Thursday, wants the village moved from the Senapati Police Station to Kangpokpi district police. Manipur Police had earlier appealed for calm after a series of killings and arson.

Thursday’s firing is a separate incident from recent violence in Noney district, where three Kuki men were killed at Kekru Naga village on November 1, Deccan Chronicle reported, and from the November 4 gunfight between armed groups at Taodaijang. Police have not linked any of these incidents to Thursday’s shooting.