The Assam Rifles has been targeted by the Manipur state police and the Meitei community for protecting the Kukis, while the state police is itself seen to be working in cahoots with the majority Meitei community.
The eldest of three siblings, 30-year-old Haominthang Chongloi, helped his father, a watchman at a nearby church, in his job and was very active in local sports clubs. He disappeared on May 4 from his village, Leimakhong.
Carrying her four children including a five-month-old, Chingnu, a Kuki woman trekked around 30 kilometers from Khamenlong to Dongsum, through woods and mud roads to get to a safe place.