One NVG killed, two CoBRA men injured in Laphok clash
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal/Noney, July 29 2026: One Naga Village Guard was killed and four including two NVGs and two CoBRA Commandos were injured in an exchange of fire near Bitiang (Laphok) village, under Khoupum police station in Noney district this morning.

The exchange of fire reportedly broke out after CoBRA personnel opened fire on the NVGs.

The clash occurred a day after the elite unit of the CRPF conducted aerial surveillance using drones.

The Naga Village Guard member killed in the firing has been identified as Lanbimei Riamei (25), son of Kadirang Riamei of Longmai-3, Noney district.

While one of the two injured NVGs has been identified as Loveson Inkah (25) of Kabuikhullen village, the identity of the other was not immediately known.

One NVG killed, two CoBRA men injured in Laphok clash

The two CoBRA personnel injured in the gunfight have been identified as Head Constable Radhashyam and Constable Jitendra.

The injured personnel have been brought to Imphal for medical treatment.

Local sources said around 162 CRPF CoBRA personnel, including senior officers, arrived in the area on Tuesday (July 28) evening at around 6 pm.

The team reportedly conducted surveillance of the surrounding areas using drones.

The sources continued that the CoBRA personnel opened fire during an operation at around 7 am Wednesday (July 29), resulting in the death of one NVG member.

Following the incident, women and youths from various Noney villages rushed to the site and staged a protest, alleging that the security personnel had used excessive force against the village guards, "who were forced to pick up weapons to defend their own villages" .

Leaders of civil bodies including Joint Tribe Council Manipur (JTCM) convenor Merachao Inkah and Rongmei Naga Luphuam Manipur president Chingdinliu rushed to the village and held discussions with the security personnel.

The JTCM leaders questioned the circumstances that led to the firing incident, and raised their con- cern over previous security operations of the CoBRA during which armed Kuki militants had escaped without arrests or casualties.

The JTCM leaders stated that the council would pursue appropriate legal action over the incident, and demanded the security forces leave the area to prevent further escalation of the public unrest.

Registering strong protest, the Working Com- mittee, JTC-Manipur has, meanwhile, declared an "immediate and emergency shutdown" of all National Highways, Railway and National projects traversing in the territories of the Inpui, Liangmai, Rongmei, and Zeme communities.

The Working Committee-JTCM alleged that it was a "cowardly ambush launched by the CoBRA in collusion with ZUF-J who has betrayed their own Naga blood" .

Instead of acting against perpetrators who killed and mutilated six Naga men who were abducted on May 13 from Leilon Vaiphei, the security forces have attacked Naga Volunteer groups who are defending their own people and ancestral land, said the Working Committee-JTC .

"This aggression against peace-loving Naga civilians, who have taken up arms only to protect their families and homelands in the absence of State protection, is a blatant act of State-sponsored terrorism that cannot and will not be tolerated" .

The Cobra team and their collaborators are attacking the very people they are sworn to protect while the real terrorists, the narcotic-peddling Kuki militants "who butchered our Pastors roam free with impunity," it said.

The Working Committee-JTCM, however, said the emergency shutdown will not affect medical, school/colleges, water, electricity and telecommunication services.

The shutdown will remain in full force until the Government of India takes decisive and meaningful action to arrest the killers of the six Naga men, cease all hostile operations against defenceless Naga villages and peoples, and restore justice, it added.

The Rongmei Naga Council Manipur (RNCM) too has strongly condemned the attack on Naga Village Guard at Bitiang, calling on the Government to strictly review and enforce the Suspension of Operations (SoO) [involving Kuki militants] and Cessation of Operation [involving ZUF (J)] .

Targeting civilians and NVG who are safeguarding their God given ancestral land and villages is not only inhuman but also an attempt to disrupt peace and harmony, it said in a statement.

It expressed condolences to the bereaved family of Lanbimei Riamei, who was killed in the "ambush" .

For peace to prevail in the region, Central forces must be withdrawn immediately and the SoO and CoO agreements must be strictly reviewed and enforced to ensure such violations do not recur, it said.

Ex-MLA Samuel Jendai too has condemned the killing of Lanbimei Riamei, and called on the Government to order an impartial, independent and time-bound investigation into the incident.