The Kuki CSO Working Committee Ukhrul while rejecting the report of The Dawn Tantak has asked to produce the evidence, substantiate its allegation, or retract the report.
The WCKCSOs-Ukhrul has categorically rejected The Dawn Tantak’s fabricated and defamatory claim that an unexploded rocket found near Sharkaphung Village was fired by “Kuki Militants” during an alleged attack on 05 August 2026.
The statement issued by the Department of Information and Media, WCKCSOs-Ukhrul stated that “the report is conjecture masquerading as journalism -a grave criminal allegation unsupported by any police record, official statement, forensic finding, or credible evidence.
“We challenge The Dawn Tantak to produce the official record of any firing incident in the Litan Sareikhong area on 05 August 2026. This is particularly significant given that violence in the area has drastically declined since June, making the renewed attempt to implicate Kuki-Zos all the more dubious.
“The pattern is hardly unfamiliar: blame the Kuki-Zos for everything, evidence be damned. By this logic, Kuki-Zos apparently possess superhuman reach-capable of infiltrating densely Tangkhul-dominated areas such as Nongshangkhong, just 18 km from Ukhrul, ambushing Assam Rifles, and then being conveniently blamed for unsubstantiated firing incidents elsewhere is not suprising. When facts fail, fabrication becomes the narrative.
“More egregiously, The Dawn Tantak leaps from “unexploded ordnance was found” to “Kuki militants fired it” without investigation or official attribution. That is not journalism; it is a verdict without evidence.
“The disparity in official response is equally troubling. Following a reported call from Sharkaphung, Litan Police and the BSF Bomb Disposal Squad reportedly rushed to the site. Commendable-but why does such urgency appear selective?
“It has been one month and six days since an unexploded EL round was reported from a residential backyard at Mongkot Chepu, yet it reportedly remains where it was found, posing an obvious threat to civilians.
“Swift action in Sharkaphung; prolonged inaction in Mongkot Chepu. Is this what equal protection looks like?
“The Dawn Tantak must produce the evidence, substantiate its allegation, or retract the report. In a conflict-sensitive environment, journalism must illuminate facts-not manufacture villains.
“The WCKCSOs-Ukhrul urges the authorities to immediately neutralise the unexploded EL round at Mongkot Chepu and uphold one standard of civilian protection for every community added the statement issued by the Department of Information and Media, WCKCSOs-Ukhrul.
