Manipur agrees to ex-gratia for families of 32 Kuki-Zo civilians killed

The Manipur government has agreed to pay ex-gratia compensation to the families of 32 Kuki-Zo civilians killed in violence that the community blames on the NSCN-IM and the Kamson faction of the Zeliangrong United Front, ZUF(K), the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) said on Friday.

The commitment came at a meeting between state government representatives and the KZC at the conference hall of the District Magistrate's office in Churachandpur. The council, the common political platform of the Kuki-Zo community, announced the outcome in a press statement.

Bodies to be taken home for last rites

According to the KZC, the government has also accepted responsibility for transporting the bodies of all 32 people to their respective villages so that families can hold the final rites. The council said both the compensation and the transport are expected to be completed within seven days.

The bodies have been at the centre of a long-running standoff. In late September, the KZC had set an October 10 deadline for the government to resolve the issue of community members' bodies kept in the morgue of the Churachandpur District Hospital and warned of stronger protests if nothing was done.

Who were the 32

Kuki-Zo groups say at least 32 members of the community, including several women, have been killed since March 2026 in attacks they attribute to the NSCN-IM and ZUF(K), and that houses in a number of Kuki-Zo villages were burnt in the same period. These are the community's figures; the government's statement on the meeting has not been made public.

At a press conference in Delhi on October 21, the council and the Kuki-Zo Women's Forum demanded that President's Rule be reimposed in Manipur, claiming that no Kuki-Zo civilian had been killed while the state was under Central rule. President's Rule, imposed on February 13, 2025, was revoked on February 4 this year.

Wider demands still pending

At Friday's meeting, the KZC also raised issues relating to the security and welfare of the community and its political aspirations. The government took these demands into consideration and assured the council that they would be reviewed and answered in due course, the statement said.

The council described the decisions on compensation and the return of the bodies as steps that address the immediate needs of bereaved families. But it said the broader grievances of the Kuki-Zo people need "concrete and time-bound" action, and that it would keep pressing the government until there are meaningful results.

The KZC's central political demand remains a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people in the form of a Union Territory with a legislature.

Tensions on several fronts

The agreement comes during a tense week in Manipur. The Centre has sent additional central forces, including a CoBRA battalion and ITBP companies, to the state, while two Kuki youths reported abducted remain untraced and civil society groups in the valley are preparing for a rally in Imphal on October 31.

NEInsider will update this story when the state government releases its own account of the meeting or when the payments and transport of the bodies are carried out.