CHURACHANDPUR, JUL 3 (PTI): Manipur BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte’s mortal remains will be laid to rest on Saturday, over four months after he died of injuries he had suffered during the onset of ethnic violence in the state three years ago.
Valte, a three-time legislator from Thanlon constituency, will be buried at a cemetery in Dorcas Veng village in Churachandpur district at around 1.30 pm, according to a Zomi Council statement issued on Friday.
The body of the 61-year-old BJP leader belonging to the Zomi community has been kept in Churachandpur District Hospital since it was brought from Delhi in February.
Valte had been battling with serious injuries he had sustained during a mob attack in Imphal’s Nagamapal area when ethnic violence broke out in May 2023, and went to Delhi for medical treatment. After nearly two years of treatment there, Valte returned home to Churachandpur, accompanied by his wife, in April last year.
On February 7, his health condition suddenly worsened, and he was taken to the national capital the next day via an air ambulance. He died at a private hospital in Gurugram on February 20.
Following his death, Zomi frontal organisations formed the Zomi Coordination Committee (ZCC) to oversee matters related to the late legislator, including engagement with the Centre, the state government, and other authorities on issues of justice and accountability, causing the delay in the burial, sources in the community said.
The ZCC recently resolved to hand over Valte’s mortal remains to his family to enable them to perform his final rites, they said.
The ZCC’s demands included a time-bound investigation by NIA or CBI into the attack on the MLA leading to his death, and the grant of Union Territory status with a legislature for the Kuki-Zo majority areas of Manipur, which he perceived as the only way towards the development of the community on par with others, sources said.
Valte had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi explaining the importance and the need for a separate administration.
At least 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless since May 2023 due to ethnic violence in Manipur between the valley-based Meiteis and the Kukis who live in the hill districts.
Following continued ethic clashes and the resignation of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, the state was placed under President’s Rule on February 13, 2025. It was lifted nearly a year later, on February 4.
