In a recent incident in Manipur, a 38-year-old man from the Meitei community kidnapped by armed men and then shot dead. A troubling video, showing the victim begging for his life moments before the killing, has gone viral, leading police to start an investigation.
Manipur man killed by armed men
The incident took place in Churachandpur, a central location for the ongoing ethnic violence in the state. News of the event surfaced late on Wednesday. The district Superintendent of Police informed that authorities learned about the crime after the video appeared on social media.
The footage shows the man seated on a rough road in the dark, his hands folded as he repeatedly begs before at least two armed men. Despite his pleas, one of the attackers shoots him at close range, killing him instantly as blood begins to flow.
Victim first kidnapped
Police identified the victim as Mayanglambam Rishikanta, 38, a resident of Kakching district. Rishikanta married to a Kuki woman from Churachandpur and had taken a tribal name, Ginminthang. Officials said he had just returned to Churachandpur from Nepal during a short leave from his job.
Officials received information around 10:30 pm on Wednesday that Rishikanta kidnapped earlier that evening by unknown assailants and later killed.
Meitei organizations claimed that Rishikanta taken along with his wife, who is from the Kuki community. They also alleged that she had asked for permission from the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and local authorities in the Tuibuong area for her husband’s visit since he was working in Nepal and had come home for leave.
Since violence erupted in May 2023, members of the Meitei and Kuki communities have largely avoided entering each other’s areas, leaving Manipur deeply divided by ethnicity. More than 260 people died, and thousands displaced in the ongoing conflict.
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