On 20 December 2025, three minor boys were critically injured when a suspected 2‑inch mortar shell exploded while they were playing in Molnoi village of Manipur’s Tengnoupal district, near the India–Myanmar border, with one child reported in serious condition. The blast, likely linked to earlier Kuki–Meitei clashes, coincided with a broader explosives scare: a hand grenade was found near Liberal College at Luwangshangbam in Imphal East and safely destroyed, while a para shell bomb unearthed during excavation at Khamaran in Sekmai was neutralised by bomb squads. These incidents, along with recent arrests of women and other drug peddlers in Imphal East and Jiribam with sizable narcotics consignments, underline the convergence of insurgency, cross‑border trafficking and unsecured ordnance.