UKHRUL: Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Saturday attended the funeral of former BJP minister and Thanlon MLA Vungzagin Valte in Churachandpur, becoming the first serving minister to visit the Kuki-Zo-majority district since ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities in May 2023.
The Chief Minister travelled to Churachandpur by helicopter before proceeding to Valte’s family residence to pay his last respects. His visit came amid heavy security and widespread protests across the district.
Ahead of his arrival, demonstrators blocked several stretches of National Highway-2 (Tedim Road), with women and local residents setting up roadblocks and burning tyres. Business establishments across Churachandpur remained shut as security forces were deployed at key locations to prevent any untoward incidents.
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Valte, 63, a senior BJP leader, former minister and three-time legislator representing Thanlon constituency, died at a hospital in Gurugram on February 21 after nearly two years of battling injuries sustained in a mob attack in Imphal.
On May 4, 2023, a day after ethnic violence erupted in Manipur, Valte who was then serving as an advisor to former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh was attacked in the state capital. He suffered multiple fractures and severe facial injuries, requiring ventilator support and reconstructive surgery, including the implantation of a titanium plate in his face. He never recovered from the assault.
Although his body was brought back to Churachandpur following his death, the funeral was postponed after his family and the Zomi Council, the apex body representing eight Zomi tribes in the district, decided to keep his remains at the Churachandpur Medical College mortuary.
The family and the Council had sought a central agency probe into the attack on Valte, arguing that the investigation had made little progress, with no further arrests after the initial action. They had also called for a time-bound dialogue by the Government of India on the longstanding demand of Zo organisations for a separate administrative arrangement independent of the Imphal-based state government.
After more than four months, the family decided to proceed with the burial for personal reasons, and Valte was laid to rest on Saturday.
