Manipur: Three houses set ablaze in suspected NSCN-IM attack on Kangpokpi’s Kailenjang village

Suspected cadres of the NSCN-IM, allegedly armed with sophisticated weapons, attacked Kailenjang Kuki village in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Monday, August 10 and set three residential houses on fire, a day after Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh’s visit to the district.

The attack took place between around 11 am and noon at Kailenjang, a village located along the fringe area between Kangpokpi and Senapati districts. No casualties were reported in the incident.

As claimed to residents, a group of suspected NSCN-IM cadres entered the village and opened fire before setting the three houses ablaze. The affected properties belonged to village chief Nengneichong Chongloi and residents Kamkhohao Chongloi and Helthang Haokip.

The houses were completely gutted, with household belongings, valuables and important documents stored inside them destroyed in the fire, residents said.

Security personnel reached the area following the attack and monitored the situation. The incident has prompted renewed concerns over security arrangements in the vulnerable fringe areas of Kangpokpi and Senapati.

Questions have also been raised over the security presence in the village, as a section of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was reportedly stationed in the area when the attack took place.

The incident occurred amid heightened political and security activity in Manipur. On Monday, the state government, led by Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam, held talks with Naga frontal organisations headed by the United Naga Council (UNC) over the prolonged economic blockade along the National Highways.

The talks reportedly failed to produce a breakthrough, with the UNC continuing to press for its four-point charter of demands.

The Kailenjang incident has added to concerns over the security situation in the Kangpokpi-Senapati fringe, where villages remain vulnerable despite the deployment of security forces.