CoTU Exposed And Shutdown Cancelled: Police Version Destroys Their Propaganda

The lies of the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) stand fully exposed once again. Their hasty propaganda around the so-called “shooting incident” at Shantipur on April 8, 2026, collapsed like a house of cards the moment Manipur Police laid out the cold, hard facts.

What CoTU tried to sell as a cold-blooded attack by “Meitei militants” on innocent Kuki civilians in their imaginary “buffer zone” turned out to be nothing more than a botched vehicle exchange gone wrong, followed by reckless driving and evasion that forced security personnel to act in self-defence.

Let me break this down plainly, without the emotional drama that CoTU thrives on. Around 9:30 PM on April 8, a Chevrolet Cruze (registration WB-06C-7444) carrying three occupants and a Maruti Alto with one occupant arrived at Kanglatongbi Bridge.

They had come from Kangpokpi and Sekmai sides respectively, apparently to exchange vehicles and do a “test drive.” That alone raises eyebrows — why this secretive swap at night near a sensitive security area?

The Cruze slipped into a nullah during the process, a minor accident. Security personnel from the nearby naka at Kanglatongbi Hindi High School rushed to help, doing exactly what police are supposed to do.

Then comes the suspicious part. The accompanying Alto came speeding in, ignored repeated stop signals, and nearly ran over the security men on duty. When the occupants spotted the police presence, they tried to flee towards Kangpokpi.

In a situation fraught with risk — high speed, evasion, potential threat to personnel in a volatile zone — the security forces fired controlled rounds aimed at the tyres to immobilise the vehicle. Standard procedure in many parts of the world when a vehicle refuses to stop and endangers lives.

The Alto didn’t stop. Later, it emerged that its driver, Lenkhogin Tuboi, sustained bullet injuries and was taken to Mission Hospital, Kangpokpi. The Cruze driver, 21-year-old Janggingen Khongsai, was detained, handed over to G. Saparmeina Police Station, questioned, and eventually released after formalities.

An FIR is registered, and investigation continues.Manipur Police were crystal clear. The action was taken due to “suspicious behaviour, attempted evasion, and threat to personnel on duty.” They explicitly advised the public not to be misled by unverified information.

In other words, don’t fall for the spin.

However, CoTU rushed out a narrative within hours, painting it as “three Kuki-Zo civilians shot at point-blank range by armed Meitei militants” in a “designated buffer zone.” They claimed it was a “murderous assault,” decried the “silence of the authorities,” and warned of “repeated targeting of civilians.”

With theatrical outrage, they announced a 24-hour total shutdown on National Highway-2 — the lifeline for hill districts — from midnight April 9 to midnight April 10. Essential services were supposedly exempted, but everyone knows what these shutdowns really mean: disruption, economic loss, hardship for ordinary people, and pressure politics.

This wasn’t about justice. It was classic CoTU playbook — inflame emotions, communalise a routine security incident, blame the other side, and use NH-2 as leverage. They have done this repeatedly in the past, turning every mishap, accident, or police action into a grand conspiracy against their community.

The imaginary buffer zone rhetoric is particularly hypocritical. They demand these zones remain “strictly sacrosanct and non-negotiable,” yet when their own people behave suspiciously in those very zones, they cry foul the moment law enforcement responds.The swift cancellation of the shutdown tells the real story.

Just hours after announcing the bandh, following a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of Kangpokpi, CoTU called it off. They cited “assurances” from the administration that “timely justice” would be delivered.

In their withdrawal statement, they still played victim, warning that the administration “must not be blamed for whatsoever untoward incidents” if assurances aren’t met.

Isn’t this classic face-saving. Announce a disruptive protest with maximum noise, then quietly back down when facts emerge and pressure mounts, all while keeping the threat of future agitation alive.

This episode exposes the hollowness of CoTU’s propaganda machinery. They didn’t wait for any verification. They didn’t bother checking with police or waiting for the injured party’s full account in context.

They immediately framed it in ethnic terms — “Kuki-Zo man shot by Meitei militants” — to mobilise their base and paint the state machinery as partisan. Social media, local news channels and certain sympathetic outlets amplified it without scrutiny, creating an atmosphere of tension before the official clarification even landed.

This is how misinformation spreads in conflict zones, very fast, emotional, and designed to deepen divisions.

Let’s be honest about the broader pattern. Manipur has endured enough cycles of violence, mistrust, and fragile peace. NH-2 is not just a road; it is the economic artery for hill areas, connecting communities, enabling trade, movement of essentials, and daily life.

Repeated shutdown calls by groups like CoTU weaponise this lifeline. Every time they issue such calls, ordinary citizens — transporters, farmers, students, patients — suffer. Goods rot, emergencies get delayed, and the fragile economy takes another hit.

However, these bands are announced with exemptions that rarely work in practice. The real motive often seems to be asserting control and keeping grievances alive rather than solving them. CoTU’s March 2025 assertion that their own created imaginary buffer zones must remain “non-negotiable” rings ironic now.

When an incident happens in or near such a zone involving suspicious activity by their own people, the narrative flips to victimhood without acknowledging the context of evasion and risk to security forces. Police firing is always “excessive” or “targeted” in their telling, never a response to non-compliance.

This selective outrage undermines genuine security concerns and erodes public trust in institutions that are trying to maintain order amid recurring sporadic violence.The quick withdrawal after “assurances” from the Kangpokpi administration further weakens their credibility.

If the incident was truly a “murderous assault” by militants, why call off the protest so easily? Why not demand an independent probe or sit on dharna until arrests? Because deep down, they knew the facts didn’t support the inflammatory version they peddled.

The state police clarification came as a direct rebuttal to their shutdown call, exposing the gap between propaganda and reality.

As someone who believes in truth over tribal loyalty or ethnic chest-thumping, I find this episode deeply troubling. Manipur cannot afford perpetual cycles where every police action or accident is twisted into communal warfare. Security personnel operate in high-risk environments; their split-second decisions can prevent greater harm.

Dismissing their version outright and rushing to shutdowns only encourages lawlessness — why would anyone stop for signals if fleeing guarantees political mobilisation and sympathy?

The public must stop being misled by unverified claims, as police rightly warned. Social media warriors and community bodies have a responsibility to verify before amplifying.

In this CoTU case, the sequence is clear: suspicious night-time vehicle exchange, accident, reckless driving, evasion, near-miss with security, controlled firing to stop the vehicle. One person injured — regrettable, but context matters.

Investigation is ongoing; let it take its course without pre-judging along ethnic lines.CoTU’s lies have been exposed not by opponents, but by official facts placed on record. Their proposed shutdown, meant to paralyse NH-2 and signal strength, was cancelled within hours once the administration engaged.

This reveals the opportunistic nature of such protests — loud when it suits, silent when facts contradict.

In the end, truth has a way of surfacing. On April 9, 2026, it surfaced through Manipur Police’s clarification, forcing CoTU to backtrack. Let this be a reminder that propaganda may give temporary mileage, but facts endure. The people of Manipur — Meitei, Kuki, Naga, and others — are tired of being pawns in manufactured outrage. It is time to demand accountability from all sides, reject lies dressed as solidarity, and rebuild trust on the foundation of verified reality, not ethnic echo chambers.

The shutdown that never fully materialised stands cancelled. But the damage to credibility? That lingers. CoTU owes the public an explanation for jumping the gun.

Naorem Mohen

Naorem Mohen is the Editor of Signpost News. Explore his views and opinion on X: @laimacha.