A convoy stretching well over a couple of kilometres followed the body of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and senior Zomi leader Vungzagin Valte as it toured through the green and yellow hills of Manipur on its final journey. The remains of the 62-year-old leader arrived at Imphal airport on 23 February and passed through the little hamlets and villages that line the route from the valley to the hills of Lamka (Churachandpur), passing his Assembly constituency seat, Thanlon, before reaching Valte's home in Dorcas Veng.Everywhere the convoy went, it drew crowds in the hundreds. Cries of 'Zomi Nam Pa' rang out through the air in the convoy's wake.It has now been nearly a week since Valte's demise. Yet, his funeral remains on hold. His kin claim that the funeral will not take place until the government listens to the demands of the Kuki-Zo-Hmar people. Valte's body remains in cold storage at a morgue in the Churachandpur medical college."We have decided, as of now, to not have the funeral until our demands are met and justice served. A committee of Zomi leaders and CSOs is handling the matter," the leader's son Joseph Valte, who has been constantly by his deceased father's side since the demise, confirmed to The Quint from Lamka."We want justice for my father and demand that his killers be brought to book. State and Central authorities must ensure action against those who perpetrated violence against him in 2023, leaving him with irreparable injuries that ultimately led to his death. The government must respond to our (Kuki-Zo-Hmar people's) demand for a union territory with separate legislature, distinct from Manipur state. Until that happens, we refuse to bury my father's body."'Waited 8 Months to Bury Him,' Says Wife of Man Killed by Mob in Imphal, ManipurConfirming that the funeral had indeed been deferred, Sangmuan Hangsing, who is close to the family at currently present at Dorcas Veng said, "A coordination committee was also formed on 25 February, in consultation with community leaders and concerned stakeholders, to deliberate on the situation, decide on the timing and manner of the funeral, and review whether the stated demands are being meaningfully addressed. The intention is to ensure that everything proceeds with dignity, clarity, and due sensitivity during this period of mourning."'Party Left Him Unheard'Valte had been brutally assaulted by a mob (allegedly members of of the militant Meitei nationalist group Arambai Tenggol) on 4 May 2023 while returning from a meeting with the then Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, in Imphal. He was an advisor to the CM at the time and had been called for the meeting by the CM to discuss the growing security concerns in Imphal after ethnic clashes broke out between the Kukis and Meiteis on 3 May 2023, his family states.On his way back, Valte and his driver were attacked. Valte was brutally beaten up and subjected to electric shocks and other forms of brutality, before eventually being left to die. While the legislator was airlifted to the Indraprastha hospital in New Delhi, his driver, Thanghoulal Zou, did not survive the attack and died on the spot. It took eight months for his body to be returned to his family.https://www.thequint.com/news/india/manipur-violence-churachandpur-meitei-kuki-bjp-mla-vungzagin-valte-driverManipur: Kuki Family of BJP MLA's Driver, Murdered by Mob, Longs To Bury RemainsValte, meanwhile, remained under continuous medical care thereafter. The electric shocks left him paralysed and his speech permanently impaired. After fighting for nearly three years to regain his embattered health and shuttling to and from Delhi, Valte breathed his last at a hospital in Gurugram on 21 February 2026. He had been flown there after he complained of chest pains, his family confirmed."The fact that a sitting MLA was subjected to such brutality and then died without justice speaks volumes about the state of law and order in Manipur, and the systemic violence perpetrated within a political environment. Despite attempts by the government to declare "normalcy", his death without justice confirms that nothing is normal here," Joseph said.Valte's kin and associates claimed that apart from the physical injuries, what broke him was the constant silence he faced from his own party and government, despite being a victim of violence."He constantly tried to get in touch with party leadership in New Delhi, but never heard back," Joseph said. One of the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs of Manipur and among the 37 BJP legislators in the state, the ailing leader, who remained in control of his faculties till the very end, had written a letter to Narendra Modi just five months before his death.Dated 13 September when the Prime Minister had visited Manipur, nearly two years after the violence, the letter noted, “On May 4, 2023, after attending security meeting at CM’s office, to discuss the safe transportation of my people especially Churachandpurians stranded in Imphal due to the ethnic violence, I was brutally attacked on my way back home at RIMS Road by the Meitei militia [Arambai Tenggol], resulting in severe injuries that have left me paralysed and handicapped till date. Despite the gravity of this incident, no special inquiry [CBI/NIA] has been initiated, and the community remains marginalised."The letter, a copy of which has been accessed by The Quint, further reiterated the community's demand for separate administration.“In light of this, I humbly request that a separate administration, preferably a Union Territory with a legislature under the Indian Constitution, be granted to the indigenous tribal community as mentioned above,” Valte wrote.A BJP MLA from the Kuki-Zo community wishing to remain anonymous said that the top leadership within the BJP had "no interest in righting the wrongs experienced by either community during the clashes but to use them for political mileage."The death brought back memories of the 10 December 2024, when the elderly Valte had been rolled in on a wheelchair to the makeshift dais created at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar.Despite the obvious physical pain, the senior leader showed up, sporting a black mask on his emaciated face, as a mark of protest against the "silencing" of Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs in the BJP. He held up a placard denouncing the Government of India, that said, "Please stop state sponsored ethnic pogrom in Manipur".The protest had been attended by seven of the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs part of the 60-member Manipur Assembly, and they had gathered at the capital on International Human Rights Day, who claimed that despite being part of the ruling party, their voices had remained "unheard", even as ethnic tensions continued to rage in the hill state.Valte's death comes ahead of the keenly anticipated 2027 Legislative Assembly elections in the state, and weeks after the reinstation of a popular government, led by Meitei leader Yumnam Khemchand and co-deputy chief ministers, Nemcha Kipgen (among the ten Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs of Manipur) and Naga leader Losii Dikho.In life, as at the time of his death, Valte's voice remained unheard. Now, in death, his kin and members of the Kuki-Zo-Hmar community seem determined to not let silence dictate his legacy.'Nemcha Betrayed Us...': Tensions Rise as Kuki-Zo Demand Manipur Dy CM's Removal'Will Not Let His Death Go to Waste'In Churachandpur, where Valte's remains are currently resting at the medical college morgue, emotions have been running high. Valte has left behind a wife, daughter, two sons, and eight grandchildren.Even after the three designated days of mourning and shutdown announced by Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla from 22 to 24 February, candlelight vigils were held to mourn the death of the revered leader in his home district on the night of 25 February.Lianzalal, a local living close to Dorcas Veng and a Zomi CSO leader, said, "We want justice for Pu Valte. He died as a result of majoritarian hate. If even a sitting MLA in the ruling party does not get justice or legal remedy, how can ordinary victims even dream of justice?"In a statement condoling Valte's demise, Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) said, "His death stands as a grim reminder of the atrocities committed against the Kuki-Zo people and the grave insecurity under which our community continues to live. The fact that even a sitting MLA was not spared underscores the complete breakdown of trust and safety for the Kulki-Zo in Meltei-dominated areas.""This tragic loss reinforces our collective position that coexistence under the present circumstances has become untenable and strengthens our demand for the formal recognition of a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people."The demand for separate administration has, indeed, been reiterated by CSOs like the Zomi Council, Zomi Students' Federation and others."We have some demands for the authorities. First, that a union territory with separate legislature be given to the Kuki-Zo-Hmar, and a separate district called Lamka be carved out Second, that a thorough CBI or NIA investigation be carried out into the case assault on Valte and his escort," Vumsuan Naulak, Chairman of the Zomi Council told The Quint.The third demand is that Zomi Nam Ni, celebrated annually on 20 February by the Zo people in India, Myanmar, and worldwide, be marked as a general holiday.While no official demands have been made yet to the authorities in writing, Valte's kin and local Zomi CSO leaders state the message has been conveyed. The Zomi Council has also written a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs, seeking speedy CBI enquiry and a resolution for the political aspirations of the Zomi tribes. "The Zomi Council emphasises that justice for Vungzagin Valte cannot be realized in isolation. The marginalisation of the Zo community is essentially the root cause of the violence he faced; long-standing political grievances and structural vulnerabilities. The only durable pathway to justice and peace lies in the restoration of political and administrative autonomy for the Zo hill tribes," the letter read. The Council represents eight tribes under the Zomi umbrella.Manipur: Kuki-Zo Groups Demand Written Commitment For Separate UT