Abandoned businesses and residential houses have slipped into the hands of militant groups, who have either occupied them or kept a close watch on how they are being used. Many properties have been 'renamed'.

The Meitei Heritage Welfare Foundation alleged that armed men from the Kuki-Zo community blocked the way to Thangjing Hill.

“The Arambai Tenggol should not be mistaken for a passive or inactive group,” MP Leishemba Sanajaoba said at event organised by the militia.

In an interview to The Wire, a Meira Paibi leader had recounted a private conversation at Biren Singh’s residence in which he allegedly dismissed earlier claims that Amit Shah was overseeing the hill districts.

Lourembam Nganbi, a prominent leader of the Meira Paibis, tells The Wire that Biren Singh had privately denied that Amit Shah was handling the hill districts, as he had claimed.

While Meitei civil society organisations expressed readiness to sign the Union home ministry's draft, the Kuki-Zo organisation refused.

Between November 2024 and March 2025, at least 34 people have died in Manipur – 21 in direct clashes and 13 in relief camps, due to what locals believe is medical neglect.

The Meitei Pangal community has also suffered violence and has been left out of official peace talks, said the United Meitei Pangal Council.

This is the first death in ethnic clashes in Manipur since the state went into President's Rule on February 13 this year. 

Ajay Bhalla said that returning the weapons would be a “powerful gesture towards ensuring peace”.

After a meeting with BJP's Sambit Patra, NPP MLA and party head Sheikh Noorul Hassan told The Wire that the party has decided to back the BJP government in Manipur.

Paolienlal Haokip tells The Wire that he is skeptical of claims of peace now. 'Whether Biren remains CM or not is irrelevant.'

His resignation comes amid mounting political pressure, with the opposition demanding a floor test for his government in Monday’s session.

Despite Union home minister Amit Shah’s promise in 2023 to improve connectivity in Manipur, the Khongsang railway station remains non-operational for passenger trains, an RTI reveals.

'Any arrangement with law and order under the control of the State of Manipur would not ensure the safety of the Kuki-Zo people,' the Kuki-Zo Council's note to the MHA said.

Entire villages appear to have been reduced to rubble, with trees growing in places where houses once stood. 

For instance, B. Phainom village where two Kuki women were paraded naked – seen in a video that sent ripples across the country – appears to have all but disappeared.

Amid a crackdown by the security forces in Kangpokpi, a 45-year-old was allegedly hit by a rubber bullet and over 50 women were reportedly injured.

The Wire notes that at least 18 people, including a CRPF officer and a former soldier, were killed in violence in the last three months.

According to Akoijam, the violence is part of a larger, insidious plot to manipulate ethnic tensions for political gain.