File picture of security personnel at Churachandpur.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
A 29-year-old man was shot dead and the killing was recorded on camera by unidentified assailants in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Wednesday (January 21, 2026) night, security officials said.
The man identified as Mayanglambam Rishikant Singh, who belonged to the Meitei community and a resident of Kakching was visiting his wife, a Kuki-Zo in Churanchandpur district.
Singh used to work in Nepal for the past two years and had come to visit his wife in Churachandpur on December 19 via Aizawal in neighbouring Mizoram, a security official said.
He had been staying in Churachandpur since.
“On Wednesday evening, unidentified people came to their house and took the couple away. While the wife was let off, the husband was taken a little further and shot dead. A video released by the assailants shows a terrified Singh, bent on his knees, pleading and crying for help,” said the official.
Assam Rifles came to know through their sources that the murder has taken place as there was no call made to the police.
Around 9.30 p.m., a video of the killing was shared on WhatsApp from an IP address based in Guwahati, the official said.
The video was titled “no peace no popular governments.”
The wife has told the police that four men came in a black SUV looking for her husband.
“All of them were masked. While two remained the car, the other two entered the house. One of them was carrying a weapon,” the official said adding that the wife has not been able to recognise them yet.
The wife told the police that no one except the village chief knew about the arrival of her husband.
The body has been recovered and sent for postmortem.
Ethnic violence erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023 between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo people, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 250 people.
More than two-years since the violence, the two communities are yet to access or move into each other’s area. Buffer zones have been created between ether valley districts, dominated by the Meitei people and the hill districts where the Kuki-Zo live. Churachandpur is a hill district south of Imphal valley.
Manipur is under President’s Rule since February 13, 2025.
Published – January 22, 2026 10:53 am IST
