Naga legislators from multiple parties announced on Monday that they would abstain from the final sitting of the current Manipur Legislative Assembly session to protest the killing of six Naga civilians, allegedly by Kuki armed militants.
The lawmakers also rejected a clarification issued by Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam regarding the Leilon Vaiphei killings and reiterated demands for action against Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, citing alleged ties between her husband and the KNF(P) organization.
At a press conference held at Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho’s official residence, the Naga MLAs collectively declared their decision to boycott the final proceedings, arguing that justice had not yet been delivered for the victims.
Awangbou Newmai, president of the Naga People’s Front (NPF) Manipur State Unit, alleged that eyewitnesses implicated a KNF(P) leader, including the husband of Deputy CM Nemcha Kipgen. He said the Home Minister’s statement that a policeman and the Leilon Vaiphei village chief were not involved contradicted eyewitness accounts and the ongoing National Investigation Agency inquiry.
Newmai noted that 18 people were abducted from Leilon Vaiphei on May 13, after which six Naga civilians were killed and their mutilated bodies recovered nearly a month later. He pointed out that the individuals named in the FIR, including the village chief, had not been arrested four months after the incident, prompting the legislators’ boycott of the Assembly session.
