Manipur Unrest, October 2026: What Happened, Curfew Orders and Safety Tips for Travellers and Families

Between Saturday 17 and Monday 19 October 2026, Manipur saw three separate outbreaks of violence in about 48 hours: a deadly attack on a village in Kamjong district, a night of stone-throwing and a fatal shooting in Thoubal, and the killing of three men who had gone to collect firewood on the Imphal East and Kangpokpi border. Angry residents then laid two of the bodies outside the Chief Minister’s residence in Imphal, and police fired tear gas. This explainer sets out what the reports say, where they disagree, and what a reader in or travelling to Manipur, or with family there, can sensibly do. We take no side and name no one as guilty. Last checked: 20 October 2026, around 2 pm IST. The situation is still moving.

What changed on 20 October

• The 48-hour strike began. The Native People Committee Manipur’s statewide general strike started at midnight and covers Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 October. PTI reported markets, schools and businesses shut in Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Thoubal and Kakching, public transport off the roads, and protesters blocking roads and burning tyres in places. Northeast Live added that oil depots were closed. A police officer told PTI that security was tightened in Imphal and that no untoward incident had been reported that morning.
• Another man was reported killed. Hindustan Times reported that unidentified assailants shot dead a 45-year-old Kuki man in Kangpokpi district on Tuesday while he and another person were collecting bamboo shoots; the second person escaped. This rests on residents quoted by the paper, and we found no police statement on it. Local bodies and village volunteers warned people to stay out of forests and isolated areas.
• A Kuki hamlet was burnt in Ukhrul. Ukhrul police said houses were set on fire at Patleijang, a Kuki village, and that no casualties were reported and the arsonists fled. Hindustan Times put the number at about six houses. The hamlet was attacked in the early hours, around 1 am according to a Kuki civil society committee, which blamed NSCN(IM) cadres and questioned the security cover. That is the committee’s allegation; the police statement says the identity and motive are not known.
• Government and police. The Chief Minister chaired a meeting of NDA legislators and a review with senior security officials, and told the forces to arrest those behind the Nongshum killings. Police, CRPF, Assam Rifles and BSF are searching with drones, sniffer dogs and helicopter surveillance (Assam Tribune). We found no report of an arrest in the Nongshum case so far.
• Protests. Residents of Uyumpok in Imphal East burnt effigies of the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, the Home Minister and a Rajya Sabha MP, and asked them to resign (India Today NE). The strike committee has demanded arrests within 48 hours and warned it would step up its agitation if there are none (Northeast Live).
• Still not found: a curfew in Imphal or the valley, a mobile internet suspension, any announced ex gratia, or a fresh advisory from the Government of India, as of this check.

In short

• Saturday 17 October: at Chassad village, Kamjong district, one Kuki-Zo man was killed and four others hurt in firing around 2 pm. Houses were burnt that night. The number of houses differs a lot between reports (see below).
• Sunday night, 18 October: stone-pelting at a music night in Khangabok, Thoubal district, grew into a clash. One man died of a gunshot wound, per the police, and houses and vehicles were burnt. The district magistrate ordered people in two village areas to stay indoors under Section 163 of the BNSS. Some outlets call this a curfew.
• Monday 19 October, about 9.40 am: three men from a group of firewood collectors were shot dead near Nongshum, on the Imphal East and Kangpokpi boundary, and three were injured, according to the Additional DGP (law and order). No one has been officially named as the attacker.
• Police fired tear gas near the CM’s bungalow in Imphal when residents left two of the bodies at its gate. Markets in Imphal shut and roads were blocked in places.
• The 48-hour statewide strike is on, covering 20 and 21 October, and a Kuki civil society body’s four-day shutdown of NH-202 runs until midnight on 22 October.
• We found no report of a mobile internet suspension linked to these events, and no announced compensation beyond the Chief Minister’s promise to bear the injured men’s medical costs.

What happened, day by day

Saturday 17 October: Chassad, Kamjong district

Police said there was a firing incident in Kamjong in which four people were injured and one Kuki man died, and that Assam Rifles, BSF and Kamjong police were sent to bring things under control (statement quoted by The Indian Express). The Times of India, citing the Kuki-Zo Council, reported that a group of Kuki-Zo men repairing electricity infrastructure near the Chassad police station came under fire around 2 pm. Kuki groups blamed Naga armed groups. Official sources described it only as an exchange of fire between suspected armed groups; the identities and motive were not stated (Indian Express). Naga organisations, for their part, accused Kuki armed groups of attacking Naga villages, and The Hindu reported three Tangkhul Naga civilians injured in Kamjong the same night.

The next day the state government replaced the Kamjong Superintendent of Police. Some tribal bodies objected, and social-media posts accused the transferred officer of wrongdoing. Those accusations have not been established, according to Hub News. We do not repeat them.

Sunday 18 October: Thoubal, Imphal West and the highways

At about 11.20 pm, a stone-pelting incident during a musical night at Khangabok Pali Bazar escalated, and people from Khangabok and Sangaiyumpham got involved. The Additional DGP said one person died of bullet injuries around 12.40 am and that forces including the RAF, CRPF and Assam Rifles brought the situation under control by about 1.50 am. Reports still do not agree on the cause of death: police and The Hindu say a gunshot to the head, the Assam Tribune says a pellet gun was reported, Imphal Times says he was struck by a stone, and India Today NE reported pellet injuries and said the police have not established the exact cause. Houses and vehicles were burnt; the count of houses varies from four to eight between outlets.

At 11.41 pm an IED went off at Kakwa Lamdaibung Lampak near Singjamei police station in Imphal West and seriously injured three CRPF personnel (Additional DGP, via TOI and ANI). A banned group, the RPF, claimed responsibility in a statement, according to Eastern Mirror. That is a claim from one report, not a finding.

Earlier on Sunday, a Kuki civil society working committee announced a “total shutdown” of NH-202 (the Imphal–Ukhrul road) from Sunday midnight to Thursday midnight, 22 October (The Hindu). The Assam Tribune reported that two people were hurt when their car was fired on along NH-202 in Ukhrul district around 11.30 am, and that police confirmed 13 abandoned houses were burnt in two Kamjong villages.

Monday 19 October: Nongshum and the CM’s gate

Around 9.40 am, unidentified armed men opened fire on villagers cutting and transporting firewood at Sunulok Hill, under Sagolmang police station, just off Nongshum village, said the Additional DGP at a press conference. Three people died and three were hurt. Two died at the spot and one later in a private hospital in Imphal. The group size is reported as 14 (Additional DGP), 15 (an MLA, via Northeast Live) and 16 (PTI and officials); earlier reports said three more people were missing, but later official briefings spoke of three injured.

Angry residents brought two of the bodies to Imphal in a truck and left them at the main gate of the Chief Minister’s residence at Babupara. Police fired several rounds of tear gas and then took the bodies to the mortuary of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (most reports; The Indian Express says RIMS). Security was tightened around the bungalow. Protesters also blocked a road at Khurai Lamlong, women held a sit-in at Ema Keithel, and shops and markets across Imphal closed (TOI and PTC News). Hindustan Times reported that the crowd breached the security cordon outside the residence before the shells were fired, which the other reports we read do not describe. We found no report of anyone hurt at the gate.

What is confirmed, what is claimed, what differs

• Deaths. Police (ANI) counted four deaths in the Thoubal clash and the Nongshum attack together; many headlines said “4 killed” for that reason. If we add the Chassad death on Saturday, the three incidents total five people killed, by our count from these reports. A sixth death, in Kangpokpi on 20 October, was reported separately by Hindustan Times and is not part of that five. Other recent killings elsewhere in Manipur are mentioned in some reports and are not counted here.
• Who did it. Meitei groups and some MLAs blamed Kuki militants for the Nongshum attack. The Khamenlok Area Core Committee, a Kuki-Zo body, condemned it and warned against blaming a whole community. The United Naga Council said Nagas were not involved (HT). A Joint Tribes Council statement alleged Kuki militants under the Suspension of Operations pact. The Tribune cited unnamed sources who did not rule out another armed group. Police say they have inputs and are investigating, and have named no one. Treat every attribution above as a claim.
• Houses burnt at Chassad. At least 15 (PTI, via The Hindu and TOI, 18 October), more than 30 (TOI, citing the Kuki-Zo Council), 28 in 24 hours (Hitavada, 19 October), at least 50 belonging to both communities (HT). The counts were taken at different times and may cover different villages. We cannot say which is right.
• Victims’ names and ages. Outlets give different ages and spellings for the Nongshum victims, so we have not printed names.
• Mortuary. JNIMS in most reports, RIMS in The Indian Express.

Curfew and Section 163 orders: what the Thoubal order says

The Thoubal order, signed by the district magistrate on Sunday night, directed people in Khangabok and Sangaiyumpham not to leave their homes from 11 pm on 18 October. It was issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which The Hindu describes as the provision that lets authorities issue temporary orders to prevent urgent dangers or public nuisances. The order did not say when the restriction would end. Some reports (NE Now, The Sentinel, Amar Ujala) call it a curfew; others call it prohibitory orders. India Today NE, which quoted the order, says the Thoubal district magistrate applied it to the revenue villages of Sangaiyumpham and Khangabok from 11 pm on 18 October until further orders, with exemptions for government agencies, essential services such as electricity, medical care and water supply, and the security forces. We still could not open the order itself. As of this check we found no report of a district-wide curfew in Thoubal, or of any curfew in Imphal or elsewhere in the valley, and no relaxation notice for Khangabok and Sangaiyumpham.

If an order like this covers where you are:

• Find the actual order or police announcement. Look at the area it covers, the hours and any exemptions. A forwarded screenshot may be old or from another district.
• Stay indoors, keep children inside and keep your phone charged. Keep a small stock of water, essential medicines and food for a few days. Our family emergency plan has a simple checklist.
• Do not go out to watch a gathering or film it. Crowds in a tense area can turn quickly.
• If someone needs urgent medical help, call 112 or 108, say clearly where you are, and follow the control room’s directions. Do not try to push through a blocked road on your own.
• Check back often. The same order may be eased for a few hours or extended without much warning.

If you are travelling to or from Manipur

• Official advice. The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to Manipur, including Imphal, and mentions curfews and restrictions in parts of the state (page checked 20 October 2026). We did not find a fresh Government of India or Manipur government tourist advisory for these events.
• Roads and buses. Public bus services on NH-2 between Imphal, Dimapur and Guwahati restarted on 21 August 2026 (PTI). We found no report that they were suspended after 19 October, and we found nothing either way on NH-37. Confirm with the operator before you book. The NH-202 shutdown call runs to midnight on 22 October, and Khangabok residents blocked NH-102 on 19 October (Imphal Times).
• Strikes. The Native People Committee Manipur called a 48-hour general strike across hill and valley districts from midnight on 19 October. It said health services, religious activity and essential services are exempt and asked people to keep ambulances moving (India Today NE). The strike began on Tuesday 20 October and runs through Wednesday 21 October. PTI reported markets and schools shut and public transport off the roads across the five valley districts, with road blocks and burning tyres at some places, so plan for closed shops and very little local transport until it ends.
• Flights. We found no report on Imphal flights. Check with your airline.
• Where to be careful. The attacks of the past four days were in Kamjong, Ukhrul, Thoubal, Kangpokpi, and on the hill-valley boundary near Nongshum, and after the Kangpokpi shooting local bodies warned people to keep out of forests and isolated areas. If you must move, do it in daylight, avoid roads along that boundary, tell your host which road you are taking, and turn back if a crowd or blockade ahead looks tense.
• Carry a photo ID, a charged phone and a power bank, some cash (digital payments may fail if networks are disrupted), and your emergency contacts on paper.

Checking on relatives

• Send a short message first and avoid repeated calls. This keeps lines free.
• Agree one relative outside the state as the contact point, and set a time to check in each evening.
• If mobile data stops working, switch to SMS and voice calls. Manipur has seen internet shutdowns in earlier phases of the conflict. We found no report of one linked to this week’s events.
• If you cannot reach someone for a long time, contact the district control room below, give the name, address and last-known time, and do not share the person’s details on social media.

Official channels and helplines

• Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), Manipur: 112. The Manipur Police DG Control Room is 0385-2451100; Imphal West control room 0385-2450214; Imphal East 0385-2452669; Thoubal 03848-223901. These are as listed on the Manipur Police website, last updated 3 June 2026, so please check them on the site before relying on them.
• The Additional DGP asked people to report suspicious activity to the nearest police station or the central control room.
• The state disaster control room (SEOC) is listed at 0385-2443441, toll-free 1070, in our state-wise helpline guide, which was checked on 19 October 2026.
• In India, 112 works for police, fire and ambulance, 100 reaches the police and 108 an ambulance.
• Not sure which number suits which problem? Our guide to emergency numbers in India explains each one.
• For orders, read the district magistrate’s notice or a police statement, not a forward.

Information hygiene: rumours and forwarded videos

The Additional DGP asked people not to believe or circulate unverified information, rumours or provocative content on social media, saying it could aggravate the situation. Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen made a similar appeal, and a Kuki-Zo body, the Khamenlok committee, warned that vested interests might try to inflame tensions. This week alone, early reports gave two deaths, then three; headlines said “4 killed” for two different incidents; the group size and the mortuary changed from report to report.

• Ask who said it, when and where. A police briefing or a signed order counts for more than an unnamed “source”.
• Be wary of clips with no date. Old videos from 2023 and 2024 often come back during a fresh incident.
• Do not forward pictures or videos of the injured or the dead. They hurt families and can set off reprisals.
• Do not share names, addresses or photos of people accused online. Several accusations in this week’s posts have not been established.
• If a message tells you to gather somewhere or to attack someone, do neither, and tell the police.

If you are near a protest or a crowd

Our guide on how to stay safe at a protest in India covers meeting points, exits, what to do at a barricade and what to do if violence starts. A few points matter most in a tense town like Imphal this week. Leave early, before a crowd closes around you. Keep a clear exit that does not pass a barricade, a narrow gate or a blocked road. Keep children and older people away. If you feel pressure building, our guide on how to survive a crowd crush explains what to do, and the warning signs to watch for.

If tear gas reaches you

The MSD Manual consumer edition says riot-control agents, often called tear gas, cause quick burning of the eyes, nose, throat and skin, and that people usually recover within about half an hour, although agent left on the skin can cause blisters. The basics it gives: get away from the affected area, wash or brush off the agent, flush the eyes generously with plain water or salt water, and note that water may sting at first but still works. Oils or soapy liquids are probably better for pepper spray. Most people do not need hospital care, but get medical help if breathing stays difficult or the skin blisters. This is general information, not a doctor’s advice.

Your rights, kept short

Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution protects the right to assemble peaceably and without arms, and Article 19(3) allows the state to impose reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order. A Section 163 order is one such restriction, and a magistrate issues it. If you think an order is unlawful, the place to challenge it is a court, with a lawyer, and not a confrontation on the street. This is general information, not legal advice.

What is still not known

• Who carried out the attacks at Nongshum, Chassad, Patleijang and Kangpokpi, and how the Thoubal man died. Police say investigations and search operations are on, with drones and helicopter surveillance.
• Whether the Thoubal restriction is still in force, and whether a curfew will be ordered anywhere in the valley.
• The final numbers of burnt houses and injured people, and any ex gratia for the families of the dead. We found no announcement beyond medical costs for the injured.
• Whether the strike, due to end after Wednesday 21 October, and the NH-202 shutdown will pass peacefully; whether anyone is arrested for the Nongshum killings within the strike committee’s 48-hour demand; and whether the bodies have been claimed for last rites.
• Whether the Government of India or the Home Ministry will issue a statement or send more forces. We found none by the time of writing.

We will update this page if the picture changes. Last checked: 20 October 2026, around 2 pm IST, using reports published up to about 1 pm.