Manipur CM visits Churachandpur to attend BJP MLA’s funeral, first since violence broke out

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand on Saturday travelled to Churachandpur district to attend the funeral of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vungzagin Valte, a victim of ethnic violence in the state.

This was the first visit by a chief minister to the Kuki-majority district since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023. The visit also came in the backdrop of a shutdown and boycott call by some Kuki-Zo organisations, the Hindustan Times reported.

Valte, a minister in the previous state government led by N Biren Singh, died on February 20, nearly three years after he was assaulted by a mob, allegedly comprising members of armed Meitei group Arambai Tenggol. The attack on May 4, 2023, took place at Nagamapal in Imphal when the MLA was returning from a meeting with Singh.

Valte died at a hospital in Gurugram, and his body was subsequently brought to Churachandpur, where it had been placed in a mortuary till Saturday. His family had refused to bury his body till the Union government agreed to carve out a separate district for the Zomi tribe, to which the MLA belonged, and an inquiry by the National Investigation Agency into his death.

However, the family eventually decided to cremate Valte as his wife was unwell and wanted her husband to be...

Read more