A police vehicle was ambushed by suspected Kuki militants at TM Kasom in Ukhrul district on April 24 — the same location where two Naga civilians were killed on April 18. No officers were injured. The attack came hours after three persons died in the Mullam-Sinakeithei clash
IMPHAL – A police team from Chingai Police Station, posted at Leinganching and travelling toward Ukhrul, came under fire from suspected Kuki militants at TM Kasom in Ukhrul district on April 24, 2026, at approximately 5:55 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The police truck was targeted using what is suspected to have been a sniper gun. One bullet pierced through the lower end of the door on the driver's side, while a second bullet struck the right rear side window, shattering the glass. A third round struck the lower portion of the right front door. The team, led by an inspector, had a narrow escape and no injuries were reported among the personnel inside the vehicle.
The attack took place at the same stretch of TM Kasom on NH-202 where two Tangkhul Naga civilians — SW Chinaoshang and Yaruingam Vashum — were killed in a militant ambush on April 18, a tragedy that had already triggered widespread protests, a three-day UNC-called shutdown across Naga hill districts, and condemnations from civil society organisations across communities. The targeting of a police vehicle at the same location less than a week later signals a continued and deliberate pattern of armed aggression at this critical stretch of the Imphal-Ukhrul highway.
The April 18 ambush that triggered the current wave of tensions unfolded when a convoy of vehicles travelling from Imphal to Ukhrul — carrying women, children, and ailing passengers — came under fire after security escorts turned back toward Litan. Assailants opened fire from a western hilltop near Patleijang Kuki hamlet. SW Chinaoshang, 45, a retired cadre of the Naga Regiment and son of SW Ruichumhao from Tashar village, succumbed to bullet injuries at Ukhrul District Hospital. Yaruingam Vashum, 42, son of Thuimi Vashum from Kharasom CC village, who was driving one of the vehicles, died on the spot. Both victims suffered gunshot wounds to the head, and at least six vehicles were damaged in the attack. The incident occurred approximately 1.5 kilometres from an Indian Army outpost. The Patleijang Kuki hamlet area had reportedly been occupied by armed Kuki militants targeting commuters since the outbreak of conflict in February.
In the early hours of April 24, a fatal armed clash erupted in the vicinity of Sinakeithei and Mullam villages in Ukhrul District, leaving three persons dead. The Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) confirmed the death of Horshokmi Jamang, 29, a Naga Village Guard (NVG) and resident of Chatric Khullen village, Kamjong, whom the TNL stated was killed in a Kuki SoO cadre ambush while on patrol between Sirarakhong and Sinakeithei in the early hours of the day.
Two Kuki militants were also killed during the Mullam clash. Police have identified the deceased as Paominlun Haolai, 22, of Haijang village under Singhat Sub-Division in Churachandpur district, and Letlal Sitlhou, 41, of K Khonom village in Kangpokpi district. BSF personnel arrived at Mullam village at 11:25 a.m. on April 24, with reports indicating that the two bodies — believed to be of militants in military fatigues — were found on the road between Mullam and Shongphel prior to BSF's arrival. Security forces are currently operating in the LM Block (Lungchong Maiphei Block) of Ukhrul District to stabilise the situation. Both the Naga and Kuki communities have attributed responsibility to the other for initiating the violence, and independent verification of the sequence of events remains pending.
The spiralling violence in Ukhrul district must be understood as part of a sustained pattern of escalation. In Sinakeithei village, Chihanngam Rungsung, 30, was shot in the heel by a sniper from a Kuki militant bunker on Lungter Hill on April 22 — while simply moving within the bounds of his own village. The Sinakeithei Village Authority has documented over two months of sustained and coordinated armed attacks, with militants constructing bunkers, trenches, and camps across the Lungter Hill Range in plain view of deployed security personnel.
Meanwhile, the 72-hour total shutdown called by the United Naga Council to mourn the April 18 killings paralysed normal life across all Naga-inhabited hill districts of Manipur — including Ukhrul, Kamjong, Chandel, Senapati, Tamenglong, Noney, and Tengnoupal — from midnight on April 20 to midnight on April 23. Markets, schools, transport, and commercial establishments remained shut throughout the shutdown period. As of April 24, with the shutdown concluded, fresh violence has broken out across multiple sites within the district, leaving Ukhrul on a knife's edge and raising urgent questions about the state's capacity to prevent further loss of life.
