The Central Village Defence Force (CVDF) on Friday (March 6, 2026) took out a road march in Manipur’s Churachandpur town protesting the death of BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte and other Zo community people who were the victims of the ethnic violence in the State.

Valte, who had sustained injuries in a mob attack during the early period of ethnic violence in 2023, died on February 20 in a private hospital in Gurugram.

Hundreds of CVDF volunteers and members of the public took part in the march to demand justice for those killed in the violence and who were displaced, a CVDF leader claimed.

The northeastern state has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 3, 2023, after a tribal solidarity march was taken out in the hill districts, in protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Since then, at least 260 people, including members of both the Kuki and Meitei communities as well as security personnel, have been killed in the violence, while thousands were rendered homeless.