Tension in Manipur as protesters defy curfew, over 25 injured in police crackdown

Imphal, September 6

More than 25 people, mostly women, were injured after security forces fired several rounds of teargas shells to disperse thousands of protesters who tried to breach security barricades at Phougakchao Ikhai in Manipur’s Bishnupur district on Wednesday, officials said.

The injured have been rushed to Bishnupur district hospital and other nearby facilities for treatment, they said.

Defying curfew, hundreds of locals came out of their houses at Oinam in Bishnupur district and sat in the middle of a road to block the movement of police and other central forces’ personnel who were on their way to Phougakchao Ikhai from Imphal, officials said.

Responding to the call of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) to storm army barricades at Phougakchao Ikhai, people had gathered in Bishnupur district demanding that those be pushed towards Churachandpur side.

Apunba Manipur Kanba Ima Lup (AMKIL) president Lourembam Nganbi told reporters, “Hundreds of Meiteis, who fled their homes at Torbung after violence broke out on May 3, are unable to visit their homes because of the barricades. We are just demanding that those be shifted so that people can visit their homes.”

COCOMI had called upon the people to storm the barricades as their repeated requests to the government to remove those by August 30 had fallen on deaf ears.

On Tuesday, the state government hurriedly clamped full curfew in five valley districts till further orders in apprehension of law and order violations. PTI