Manipur: Family of BJP MLA refuses to bury him till Centre announces new district, NIA probe

The family of Manipur Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vungzagin Valte, who died on February 20, nearly three years after being assaulted by a mob, said that it will not bury his body until the Union government agrees to its demands, The Hindu reported.

The family has sought a separate district for the Zomi tribe, to which Valte belonged, and an inquiry by the National Investigation Agency into his death.

Valte was assaulted by a mob, allegedly comprising members of the Meitei community, on May 4, 2023. The attack took place at Nagamapal in Imphal when the MLA was returning from a meeting with N Biren Singh, the chief minister at the time, a day after ethnic violence broke out in the state.

Valte received medical treatment for nearly three years but died at a hospital in Gurugram on February 20.

The BJP MLA’s body was flown from Delhi to Aizawl at the request of his family, The Hindu reported. It was later taken to his home in Manipur’s Churachandpur district by road on Tuesday. After the body arrived at his home, Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh paid their respects to the legislator.

However, Valte’s son, Joseph, was quoted as saying by The Hindu that the family gave a list of demands to Bhalla, and said the burial would not take place till they were met.

Valte’s body was on Wednesday moved to the morgue of the Churachandpur Medical College. An unidentified official was quoted as saying by The Indian Express that the institute received a request for a post-mortem from the Imphal West Police.

“Before that, the family was still deciding whether they wanted a post-mortem done,” the official was quoted as saying. “The main concern they expressed is that since they are asking for urgent higher investigation into this matter, they want to make sure that all possible evidence required by investigators is taken before burying the body.”

The Zomi Council, an influential body of the community, said it wanted to press the government to speed up the process of dealing with the question of a separate administration for the community.

The council’s Information and Publicity Secretary Mary Jones Vung told The Indian Express that it would first hold consultations with its frontal organisations and, if required, with the tribal councils of constituent tribes before deciding on the next steps.

“We will consult on how we want to raise this with the government, and after that, we will take the initiative for the burial service with the family,” she said.

While Valte was undergoing treatment, he had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 13, 2025, alleging that he had been attacked by “Meitei militia [Arambai Tenggol]”, The Hindu reported. He said that the attack had left him severely injured and paralysed.

Valte had said in the letter that despite the seriousness of the attack, no special inquiry, whether by the Central Bureau of Investigation or by the National Investigation Agency, had been launched.