Total shutdown grips Sadar Hills over killing of Hoikholhing, KWOHR condemns
Source: The Sangai Express

Kangpokpi, June 20 2025: A complete shutdown swept across Sadar Hills in Kangpokpi District beginning Friday afternoon, following a call by the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) to protest the killing of Hoikholhing Haokip, wife of the Chief of Langchingmanbi Village.

The shutdown, which began at 1:00 PM, saw all business establishments, educational institutions, and private offices closed, while vehicular movement along National Highway-2 and interior routes was heavily restricted.

Only emergency and exempted vehicles were permitted.

At key locations including Kangpokpi District Headquarters and Gamgiphai, CoTU volunteers were deployed, putting up protest banners and enforcing the shutdown, blocking key entry points and national routes.

The CoTU has put forward three key demands:
1. Immediate action against those responsible for the killing of Hoikholhing.

2. Concrete assurances from the Central Government to safeguard tribal lives and territory.

3. A full and independent investigation into continued violations of the Buffer Zone.

The shutdown will continue until 6:00 PM, Saturday, June 21, and is being observed as both a protest and a collective mourning for the slain village chiefs wife.

In a separate statement, the Kuki Women's Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR), Kangpokpi has vehemently condemned the killing of Hoikholhing Haokip on June 19 .

The organisation called the act malevolent and deliberate, and raised grave concerns over the strategic use of violence against Kuki-Zo women in the ethnic conflict that has been ongoing since May 3, 2023 .

KWOHR has called on the central government and constitutional authorities to ensure accountability, protection of civilians, and an immediate investigation into the June 19 incident.

The organisation emphasized that justice must be served not only for the sake of the victim, but for the integrity of the rule of law in Manipur.

"The long arm of the law must extend to this part of the country.

The continued absence of justice is not only a legal failure - it is a moral one", said KWOHR .

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