the manipur crisis chronicle # 029 — SEPTEMBER 2025 · THE FIRST VISIT the SoO is renewed and NH-2 reopens; the Nagas embargo the same road; the Prime Minister comes for a day; an ambush kills two; the numbers keep climbing verifiable · cited · neutral Part of the Manipur Crisis Chronicle. Every claim carries a cited source; contested numbers are shown with their dates, never merged. This installment covers 1–30 September 2025. ## The SoO renewal (4 September) The month's frame-shift happened nine days before the visit. On 4 September 2025 the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Government of Manipur, and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People's Front (UPF) signed a re-negotiated tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement in New Delhi, effective one year from the date of signing.[282] Among the revised ground rules, KNO and UPF agreed to relocate seven designated camps from conflict-prone areas, reduce the overall number of camps, and move weapons to the nearest CRPF or BSF camps; a physical verification of cadres would de-list foreign nationals, if any, and a Joint Monitoring Group would oversee compliance, with the MHA reserving the right to review the pact on violations.[282] The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) simultaneously agreed to reopen National Highway-2 (Imphal-Dimapur) through Kangpokpi "for the free movement of commuters and essential goods", in the MHA's description.[278] India Today NE first reported the signing that day under a "major breakthrough" framing; its report carried the MHA's provisions verbatim and closed with the expectation of relief for citizens.[282] The re-negotiation's own history was reported by The Hindu a day later with the counter-frame attached: the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), one of the largest Meitei civil-society groups, rejected the pact as "an undemocratic and hegemonic imposition upon the indigenous people and its elected representatives of Manipur".[278] COCOMI argued the elected Government of Manipur had, through a Cabinet decision on 10 March 2023, unanimously resolved to abrogate the SoO, and that under President's Rule "the administration is being run by an authority appointed from New Delhi, which lacks the legitimacy to represent the people of Manipur in letter and in spirit".[278] India Today NE's 5 September report carried COCOMI's stronger lexicon: the groups were "Chin-Kuki armed narco-terrorist groups", the extension was "anti-people", and it undermined the Manipur Legislative Assembly's unanimous resolution of 29 February 2024 urging revocation of the SoO.[284] The two outlets agree on the date, the signatories, and the one-year term; they differ in whose framing the report leads (see 029a below).[278][284] The Kuki-Zo signatories themselves disputed the official description. On 7 September, KNO and UPF said in a statement that the Press Information Bureau (PIB) had "put a spin on the signed official agreement", and that the signed text said only that the SoO "shall be followed by a tripartite dialogue with KNO and UPF to pave the way for a negotiated political settlement under the Constitution of India in a time-bound manner".[279] The groups said that following the renewed agreement, future talks would focus on the demand for a union territory (UT) with legislature for Kuki-Zo areas — a demand they said changed after 3 May 2023, from local autonomy by way of a Territorial Council within Manipur to a UT with legislature, submitted at the SoO meeting of 1 September 2023.[279] The Hindu noted the pact's 1990s origin: "The SoO agreement was signed in the wake of the Kuki-Naga clashes in the 1990s, when hundreds were killed."[279] The PIB-versus-signatories discrepancy is the installment's clearest "whose record is the first draft" datapoint: India Today NE's 4 September "breakthrough" report, the MHA's framing, and the PIB summary all precede — and differ in emphasis from — the groups' own reading of their signed text.[279][282] ## The Naga trade embargo (from 8 September) The same week brought a second, cross-community pressure move: the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of Nagas in Manipur, announced a "trade embargo" across Naga-inhabited areas from midnight on 8 September, in protest against the scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and the fencing of the India-Myanmar border.[283] The embargo targeted goods vehicles on the highways through Senapati, Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong, Kamjong and Noney — both of Manipur's lifelines, NH-2 (Dimapur–Imphal) and NH-37 (Silchar–Imphal), pass through Naga-majority districts.[283] The UNC called it "the first step of non-cooperation", and The Hindu reported it as a fallout of the inconclusive 26 August talks between a UNC team and Central officials on the two issues.[280] The UNC framed the fencing as cutting "familial and ethnic ties between Nagas on either side of the border" and demanded "free, prior, and informed consent of the Naga people for any project affecting them and their homeland straddling the two countries".[280] By 9 September, trucks were stranded on major roads while shops were exempted.[280] The Hindu's same dispatch carried a separate condemnation — by the Thadou Inpi Manipur and the Sagolmang Area Naga Students' Association — of armed Kuki extremists who reportedly intercepted a bus at Molnom in Ukhrul on the morning of 8 September, frisked passengers, seized phones, and fired blanks; those organizations said the men belonged to an outfit that signed a SoO agreement.[280] The two moves — KZC reopening NH-2 with MHA cooperation, UNC embargoing it — sit side by side in the same week as opposite uses of the same road (see 029b below).[278][280][283] ## The Prime Minister's first visit (13 September) Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Manipur on 13 September 2025 — his first visit since the ethnic violence that began on 3 May 2023.[281][285] He interacted with displaced families in Churachandpur, travelled by road after heavy rains grounded his helicopter, and laid foundation stones for projects worth over ₹8,500 crore.[285] He called Manipur "the land of courage and determination".[285] The Congress termed the trip "tokenism", a "pit stop", and a "grave insult" to the people of Manipur.[285] The Hindu's 21 September analysis said up to ₹8,500 crore in investments was announced, that the PM "met with select displaced people", and that those he did not meet were divided — "some said it gave them hope for an end to the conflict; some that investments didn't necessarily mean peace"; the piece also carried the toll framing "about 250 people have been killed and over 60,000 displaced in a battle for land rights and Scheduled Tribe status" and described the segregated hill-valley arrangement known as 'buffer zones'.[281] Dissent came from within his own party. BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip, from the Kuki community, said: "But not even ten minutes were spared to listen to our woes—not even from party MLAs", and called the visit "mere optics".[286] Ten legislators from the Kuki community, cutting across BJP, KPA and Independent affiliations, submitted a joint memorandum during the visit declaring: "We can now live in peace only as good neighbours, never under the same roof again", and asserted the minority community had been subjected to unprecedented "ethnic persecution", alleging state complicity in the violence that forced them out of the valley areas.[286] The Kuki-Zo Council submitted its own memorandum appealing for a lasting political solution, citing over 250 community members killed, more than 360 churches and other places of worship destroyed, upwards of 7,000 homes burned, and around 40,000 people still displaced in relief camps; it reiterated the demand for a UT with legislature under Article 239A, "not a matter of convenience but a necessary step for ensuring peace, security, and the survival of the community", and urged expedited dialogue citing the 4 September SoO agreement.[287] The visit's reception is the month's cleanest perception datapoint: official framing ("land of courage", ₹8,500 crore, cooperation) against Congress "tokenism", against a ruling-party MLA's "wastage of resources", against the KZC memorandum's 250/360/7,000/40,000 ledger, against The Hindu's "select displaced people" qualification.[281][285][286][287] No outlet reported an official reply to the MLAs' memorandum or the KZC's numbered claims within this window. ## The Assam Rifles ambush (19 September) On the evening of 19 September, armed men opened fire on an Assam Rifles convoy vehicle at Nambol Sabal Leikai in Bishnupur district, killing two personnel and injuring five others.[288] Police detained two individuals for verification, and recovered a silver-blue van believed used by the attackers at Mutum Yangbi, about 10 km from the site; the probe found the van had changed hands several times.[288] On 23 September, Khundongbam Ojit Singh (47, of Awang Leikinthabi, Imphal West) was arrested at about 1:00 am by a joint team of Assam Rifles and other security forces in the Kameng area of Bishnupur; police said he confessed to being a bailed-out member of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) still working for the group, and that the ambush, around 5:30 pm, had targeted 33 Assam Rifles personnel, after which the attackers fled toward Loktak Lake.[289] The recovery from his info included an A4 rifle, an HK rifle, two AK rifles, an INSAS rifle, and ammunition (170 AK rounds, 216 M/16 rounds, 67 INSAS rounds), with 170 rounds of .303 and three launcher shells; Singh had previously been arrested on 22 April 2007.[289] The ambush's toll (two dead, five injured) is consistent across the 21 September and 24 September reports; the 33-personnel figure appears only in the later, arrest-based report.[288][289] ## AFSPA extension (26 September) The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was extended on 26 September for six months from 1 October — in entire Manipur except the jurisdiction of 13 police stations — along with nine districts in Nagaland and 21 police-station areas in five more districts, plus Tirap, Changlang and Longding in Arunachal Pradesh and three police-station areas in Namsai district.[290] The notification's Manipur carve-out (entire state except 13 police stations) matches the 30 March 2025 extension reported in this chronicle (whole state minus 13 PS from 1 April).[194] ## NCRB 2023 tally (30 September) On 30 September, India Today NE reported NCRB data showing Manipur recorded the highest number of violent crimes in the Northeast in 2023: 14,427 violent crimes versus 631 in 2022 and 545 in 2021; 3,339 crimes and atrocities against Scheduled Tribes versus one in 2022 and none in 2021; 5,421 rioting incidents and 6,203 arson cases (both region-leading); 151 murders, 818 attempts to commit murder, 89 kidnappings, 27 rapes, 330 robberies and 1,213 dacoities; crimes against women declined to 201 from 248 in 2022.[291] The same report restated the death toll as "more than 260 people have been killed" — versus The Hindu's 21 September "about 250" and the KZC memorandum's "over 250"; the chronicle keeps the three figures dated and unmerged.[281][287][291] ## Bias & provenance watch (029) - CLUSTER 029a (SoO renewal): India Today NE set the first draft on 4 September with a "major breakthrough" frame and the MHA's provisions verbatim; COCOMI's counter-statement (5 September, "narco-terrorist" x8 in ITNE's report) and The Hindu's neutral "rejects" report (5 September, adding the KZC/NH-2 detail and the SoO 1990s origin) followed within 48 hours. Register split: ITNE administrative/"breakthrough", Hindu legal-institutional, COCOMI condemnation carried fully by both. The KNO/UPF "PIB spin" accusation (7 September, Hindu) is the only outlet-reported discrepancy between the signed text and the official summary. - CLUSTER 029b (NH-2 as a political instrument): the same highway was reopened by the KZC/SoO side[278][282] while the UNC embargoed it in Naga areas[280][283]; no outlet reconciled the two moves in one report, and the Thadou/Naga-student condemnation of the Molnom bus incident appears only inside The Hindu's embargo dispatch. - CLUSTER 029c (PM visit): ITNE event-report register ("land of courage", "warm welcome", projects) vs Congress counter-frame ("tokenism"/"pit stop") in the same ITNE piece vs BJP MLA Haokip's "wastage of resources" (ITNE) vs KZC memorandum numbers (ITNE) vs The Hindu's feature (which alone qualifies the meetings as "select" and carries the "3,000 cases filed in 2023" figure). Label variance: "ethnic violence" (base), "ethnic clashes singed Manipur" (The Hindu), "ethnic persecution" (Kuki MLAs' memorandum, quoted). - Multi-angle: SoO is reported from three vantage points (MHA/ITNE, COCOMI, KNO/UPF) in the same week; no government denial of COCOMI's legitimacy argument was found in this window. The NCRB 2023 data is official data by reference year (May-2023 onset), reported by one outlet; no second outlet's NCRB report captured this run. - Gaps not found: Mongjang ambush investigation outcome (30 June[236]), Gwaltabi committee report, COPIPAL ban status after 3 June suspension, special NIA court's first sittings at Churachandpur, panchayat-polls clock after the 29 August HC order, and the CFSL fresh-report hearing outcome — all still open. The SC "forensic report" article glimpsed in the CDX window was a February-2025 recapture, not a September item (capture-date pitfall #3), and was not adopted. - Ledger: 14 sources added this month ([278]–[291]), 30 verbatim evidence quotes attached; draft verified green (--evidence, 64% coverage). ## SOURCES - [194] https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/centre-extends-afspa-in-manipur-nagaland-and-arunachal-for-six-more-months-1191383-2025-03-30 > "The Union Government has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in violence-hit Manipur for another six months, with the exception of areas under 13 police stations in valley districts, a statement from the Union Home Ministry confirmed on Sunday." > "The central government declares the entire state of Manipur, excluding the areas falling under the jurisdiction of the following 13 police stations in five districts, as ‘disturbed areas’ for a period of six months with effect from April 1, 2025, unless withdrawn earlier." - [236] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/manipur/four-shot-dead-by-unidentified-gunmen-in-manipurs-churachandpur/article69755075.ece > "More than 12 empty shells were recovered from the spot. No organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack so far." > "The ambush took place near Mongjang village at around 2 p.m. when the victims were travelling in a car,” a police officer said." > "“At least four people, including a 60-year-old woman, were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Manipur ’s Churachandpur district on Monday (June 30, 2025),” police said." - [278] https://web.archive.org/web/20250905174518/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/manipur/meitei-group-rejects-governments-soo-pact-extension-with-kuki-zo-groups-in-manipur/article70017130.ece > "(COCOMI), one of the largest Meitei civil society groups in Manipur , has rejected the signing of a Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with the Kuki-Zo insurgent groups, stating that the decision taken by the Centre “reflects an undemocratic and hegemonic imposition upon the indigenous people and its elected representatives of Manipur.” COCOMI, which has been in talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to find a road map for peace in Manipur, said the extension of the SoO agreement despite “the series of terrorist and criminal acts” committed by these groups was a decision that ran completely against the interests of the indigenous people of Manipur." > "COCOMI said the popularly elected Government of Manipur had, through a Cabinet decision on March 10, 2023, unanimously resolved to abrogate the SoO agreement." - [279] https://web.archive.org/web/20250907214947/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/manipur/kuki-zo-groups-say-as-per-revised-soo-pact-future-talks-with-government-will-focus-on-ut-with-legislature/article70023618.ece > "It said that following the renewed SoO agreement, future talks between the SoO group and the government’s representatives will focus on the demand for union territory (UT) with legislature for the Kuki-Zo areas in Manipur." > "The statement said that before May 3, 2023, when ethnic violence erupted in the State, the SoO group’s demand was local autonomy by way of the Territorial Council within the State of Manipur." - [280] https://web.archive.org/web/20250909163932/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/manipur/manipur-naga-body-imposes-trade-embargo-to-protest-border-fencing/article70030177.ece > "Centre invites Manipur Naga bodies for talks on FMR, Myanmar border fencing The UNC said the ‘trade embargo’ was the first step of non-cooperation with the government in protest against New Delhi’s move to fence the 1,643 km India-Myanmar border and scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR)." > "The stir is a fallout of the inconclusive talks between a UNC team and Central government officials on August 26 over the two related issues." > "It called for free, prior, and informed consent of the Naga people for any project affecting them and their homeland straddling the two countries." - [281] https://web.archive.org/web/20250920220640/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/manipur/modis-visit-to-manipur-a-prime-ministers-pit-stop-for-promises/article70064905.ece > "s visit to Manipur | A Prime Minister’s pit stop for promises Premium In Narendra Modi’s first visit to Manipur after ethnic violence broke out between the minority Kuki-Zo and majority Meitei communities in 2023, up to ₹8,500 crore was announced in investments for the State." > "was announced in investments for the State. The Hindu finds that the PM met with select displaced people, while those he didn’t meet were divided: some said it gave them hope for an end to the conflict; some that investments didn’t necessarily mean peace Published - September 21, 2025 03:20 am IST Vijaita Singh READ LATER SEE ALL Remove Preparations for PM Narendra Modi’s visit, in Imphal, Manipur, on September 12, 2025." - [282] https://web.archive.org/web/20250904090959/https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/kuki-zo-council-reopens-nh-02-tripartite-soo-agreement-signed-in-new-delhi-1272341-2025-09-04 > "On the same day, a tripartite meeting involving the MHA, the Government of Manipur, and representatives of the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF) was held in the national capital." > "As part of their commitments, KNO and UPF have agreed to relocate seven designated camps from conflict-prone areas, reduce the overall number of such camps, and move weapons to the nearest CRPF or BSF camps." - [283] https://web.archive.org/web/20250904083546/https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/naga-apex-body-announces-trade-embargo-in-manipur-from-sept-8-over-fmr-border-fencing-1272325-2025-09-04 > "The United Naga Council (UNC), in a statement issued on Wednesday night, said the embargo would include preventing the movement of goods vehicles along the national highways passing through Naga-majority districts, including Senapati, Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong, Kamjong, and Noney." > "“As discussed and resolved in the presidential council meeting held on August 11, we hereby announce that a trade embargo shall be enforced in all the Naga areas with effect from midnight of September 8, 2025, until further notification,” the UNC said, calling for public support." - [284] https://web.archive.org/web/20250905122036/https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/cocomi-condemns-extension-of-soo-agreement-with-chin-kuki-narco-terrorist-groups-1272984-2025-09-05 > "-Kuki narco-terrorist groups The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has strongly condemned the Government of India’s decision to extend the Suspension of Operation (SoO) Agreement with Chin-Kuki armed narco-terrorist groups, announced on September 4, 2025, in New Delhi." > "COCOMI also said the agreement undermines the Manipur Legislative Assembly’s unanimous resolution on February 29, 2024, urging the revocation of the SoO." - [285] https://web.archive.org/web/20250915205603/https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/pm-modi-lauds-spirit-of-manipur-calls-it-land-of-courage-and-determination-1277033-2025-09-13 > "During the visit, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for projects worth over ₹8,500 crore, aimed at strengthening infrastructure and expanding healthcare access in the state." > "The party termed the trip “tokenism,” alleging that it amounted to a “pit stop” and a “grave insult” to the people of Manipur, given the state’s ongoing challenges." - [286] https://web.archive.org/web/20250915001152/https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/not-even-10-minutes-for-woes-manipur-kuki-bjp-mla-labels-pms-visit-wastage-of-resources-1277269-2025-09-13 > "“But not even ten minutes were spared to listen to our woes—not even from party MLAs,” he said." > "“We can now live in peace only as good neighbours, never under the same roof again,” the memorandum declared, asserting that separation was the only way to ensure lasting peace, justice, and security for their people." - [287] https://web.archive.org/web/20250915001152/https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/kuki-zo-council-submits-memorandum-to-pm-modi-seeking-lasting-political-solution-1277200-2025-09-13 > "According to the council, over 250 community members have lost their lives in violence attributed to clashes with the majority Meitei community." > "The memorandum emphasised the Kuki-Zo demand for administrative separation from Manipur through the creation of a Union Territory with a legislature under Article 239A of the Constitution of India." - [288] https://web.archive.org/web/20250921021022/https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/police-detain-two-after-assam-rifles-convoy-ambush-kills-jawans-in-manipur-1280521-2025-09-21 > "ained two individuals in connection with the deadly ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy that left two personnel dead and five others injured in Manipur’s Bishnupur district." > "The attack took place on the evening of September 19 in Nambol Sabal Leikai, where armed men opened fire on a convoy vehicle." - [289] https://web.archive.org/web/20250925025221/https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/manipur-police-arrest-key-accused-in-assam-rifles-ambush-seize-huge-arms-cache-1281882-2025-09-24 > "Khundongbam Ojit Singh, a 47-year-old resident of Awang Leikinthabi in Imphal West district, was captured during a special operation launched at 1:00 am on Tuesday, September 23, by a joint team of Assam Rifles and other security forces in the Kameng area of Bishnupur district." > "The attack, which occurred around 5:30 PM, targeted 33 Assam Rifles personnel." - [290] https://web.archive.org/web/20250926155546/https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/afspa-extended-in-parts-of-manipur-nagaland-arunachal-1283120-2025-09-26 > "Advertisement India TodayNE Sep 26, 2025 , Updated Sep 26, 2025, 8:55 PM IST Follow us: The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was on September 26 extended for six months in entire Manipur, except the jurisdiction of 13 police stations, in view of the prevailing law and order situation there." > "The extension of the disturbed area in the particular areas in the three states will be effective from October 1 for six months." - [291] https://web.archive.org/web/20250930135240/https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/manipur-tops-northeast-in-violent-crimes-rioting-cases-in-2023-ncrb-1284663-2025-09-30 > "The NCRB report said Manipur reported 14,427 violent crimes in 2023, a steep rise compared to 631 cases in 2022 and 545 in 2021." > "The data further showed that crimes and atrocities against Scheduled Tribes in Manipur surged dramatically, with 3,339 cases reported in 2023, compared to just one in 2022 and none in 2021." > "Also Read: Manipur observes 129th birth anniversary of Jana Neta Hijam Irawat Manipur also led in rioting and arson cases in the Northeast, reporting 5,421 incidents of rioting and 6,203 cases of arson." 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