Manipur violence today: 3 firewood collectors killed, protest at CM's home
Published
Militants attacked a group of 16 collecting firewood near the Imphal East-Kangpokpi border on 19 October. Locals carried the bodies to Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh's residence; police used tear gas and Imphal's markets shut.
Original report
As of 20 October 2026, 09:00 IST
Manipur violence today: around 7 am on 19 October 2026, militants attacked a group of 16 people collecting firewood near the Imphal East-Kangpokpi border, The Tribune reported (The Tribune, 2026). Three of them died, and local people carried the bodies to Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh's residence in Imphal.
Police dispersed the protesters with tear gas, and markets and shops shut across Imphal. By Scroll's count, the violence in the state has now killed 306 people since May 2023 (Scroll, 2026).
What we know
- The dead are Arubam Ronil, 35, Lairenlakpam Inaobi, 51, and Kshetrimayum Sushil, 32, all firewood collectors (Scroll, 2026; The Tribune, 2026)
- Scroll reported two men killed and a third, injured in the attack, who later died; The Tribune reported 3 killed, 3 injured and 3 missing
- Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd outside the Chief Minister's residence, and moved the bodies to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences
- Security has been tightened around the residence
- Khemchand Singh visited injured patients at a private hospital and did not respond to media queries, The Tribune reported
The protest at his gate did not come from one morning alone.
24,000 people are still in relief camps
Scroll's figures show the scale since May 2023: 306 killed, 49 missing and 60,000 displaced (Scroll, 2026). Of those displaced, 36,000 have been resettled and 24,000 remain in relief camps. That is 2 in every 5 people who fled their homes.
Scroll also reported that Khemchand Singh became Chief Minister on 4 February 2025. The Tribune described the crowd as angry over the continuing violence; neither report set out the protesters' specific demands.
The two reports also told the same morning in different ways.
How the coverage split
Scroll led on protesters placing the bodies of two men outside the Chief Minister's home. The Tribune led on 3 people killed in a militant ambush and the protests that followed in Imphal. Both reports, read in full, put the toll at three. See how every outlet covered it.
What we don't know yet
- What the protesters are demanding: neither report states it
- What the state government or the Centre has said: no statement is on record in the reports we read
- Which group carried out the attack: both reports say only "militants"
- What happened to the 3 people The Tribune reported missing
- Whether the toll will rise: one outlet's headline gives 4 dead, but we could not open that report
No dated next step, such as an inquiry or a court hearing, has been announced in the reports we read.
Questions people are asking
Who was killed in Manipur?
Arubam Ronil, Lairenlakpam Inaobi and Kshetrimayum Sushil, all firewood collectors (Scroll, 2026; The Tribune, 2026).
Where did the attack happen?
Near the Imphal East-Kangpokpi border, around 7 am on 19 October (The Tribune, 2026).
Why did protesters go to the CM's house?
The Tribune described them as angry over the continuing violence since May 2023; their specific demands were not stated.
What did police do?
They used tear gas to disperse the protesters and tightened security around the residence (Scroll, 2026; The Tribune, 2026).
References
- Scroll (2026) Manipur: Protesters place bodies of two men killed in fresh violence outside CM's home. Scroll.in. Available at: Manipur: Protesters place bodies of two men killed in fresh violence outside CM's home (Accessed: 20 October 2026).
- The Tribune (2026) Protests rock Manipur after 3 killed in militant ambush, angry locals take bodies to CM's residence. Tribune India. Available at: Protests rock Manipur after 3 killed in militant ambush (Accessed: 20 October 2026).
How we did this
We compared how outlets in the United One News database covered the attack on 19 and 20 October 2026, and read the full reports by Scroll and The Tribune to reconcile their death tolls and list what each confirmed. The figures on deaths and displacement since May 2023 are Scroll's. We do not name or describe any community in this report. The hero image is a bar chart built by United One News from Scroll's displacement figures.
This story was produced, reviewed, edited and verified by the reporter before publication, with AI assistance where required.
Covered by 2 outlets across the spectrum: 50% left, 50% center, 0% right.
Who is covering this story
- Left-leaning (1): Scroll.in
- Center (1): Tribune India